1803_0168 Fog Bow
On the road, west of Val Marie last week, heading for Alberta, I saw this fog bow and had to stop. This makes three that I've seen, two of them within the past year! Presumably there have been more that I didn't notice. Odd how once you become aware of a phenomenon, you realize it is more common than expected!
At first I was disappointed that it didn't arch over the road more symmetrically, but as I continue to look at the image, I think it works. I instinctively placed the vanishing point at the intersection of "thirds". Meanwhile, the fog bow creates interesting shapes of the remaining space.
When I'm composing an image, I never - or almost never - think too much about what I'm doing. Rather, I feel the rightness of it. If I feel somehow uncomfortable with the composition, I make an adjustment. Often the result will fall in line with classical principles of visual design (golden mean, thirds, etc.), but that is almost never a cerebral process, but rather, gut response. I don't know if this can be taught - but I think it can be learned. I mention this because, for me, it is at the heart of all creativity: the process - trying to resolve an inner feeling by some mode of expression - keeps me engaged and alive as a creative being.
What goes on in the mind of a great guitarist or horn player while improvising blues or jazz? I play guitar, but my limitations are obvious to me each time I pick up my Telecaster and find myself in a box that I can't seem to exit. Not so with a camera, where I feel a sense of limitless freedom. I know practice is a huge part of it, but that isn't the whole story. I won't discount talent, but I don't think that's the whole story, either. Clearly, in this matter, I have more questions than answers. I suspect that the answer to the question about the musician is: "Very little." The creative wellspring comes from some place more elusive than the intellect. He (or she) is playing from the gut. Feeling it. Like any great painter, dancer, writer, or photographer.
Photographed along Hwy 18, between Orkney and Bracken, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2018 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
1803_0168 Fog Bow
On the road, west of Val Marie last week, heading for Alberta, I saw this fog bow and had to stop. This makes three that I've seen, two of them within the past year! Presumably there have been more that I didn't notice. Odd how once you become aware of a phenomenon, you realize it is more common than expected!
At first I was disappointed that it didn't arch over the road more symmetrically, but as I continue to look at the image, I think it works. I instinctively placed the vanishing point at the intersection of "thirds". Meanwhile, the fog bow creates interesting shapes of the remaining space.
When I'm composing an image, I never - or almost never - think too much about what I'm doing. Rather, I feel the rightness of it. If I feel somehow uncomfortable with the composition, I make an adjustment. Often the result will fall in line with classical principles of visual design (golden mean, thirds, etc.), but that is almost never a cerebral process, but rather, gut response. I don't know if this can be taught - but I think it can be learned. I mention this because, for me, it is at the heart of all creativity: the process - trying to resolve an inner feeling by some mode of expression - keeps me engaged and alive as a creative being.
What goes on in the mind of a great guitarist or horn player while improvising blues or jazz? I play guitar, but my limitations are obvious to me each time I pick up my Telecaster and find myself in a box that I can't seem to exit. Not so with a camera, where I feel a sense of limitless freedom. I know practice is a huge part of it, but that isn't the whole story. I won't discount talent, but I don't think that's the whole story, either. Clearly, in this matter, I have more questions than answers. I suspect that the answer to the question about the musician is: "Very little." The creative wellspring comes from some place more elusive than the intellect. He (or she) is playing from the gut. Feeling it. Like any great painter, dancer, writer, or photographer.
Photographed along Hwy 18, between Orkney and Bracken, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2018 James R. Page - all rights reserved.