I MUST down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a gray dawn breaking.
Today’s post is all about lines. Straight lines, curved lines, jagged lines, criss-crossed lines, you name it. This morning I saw a ladder, and it got me to thinking about lines, and after that everywhere I looked, I followed the lines, and I encourage you to do the same. By recognizing the lines in a scene, you can take advantage of the opportunity to take a simple snapshot and make it into a great image.
Lines can be interesting or boring, and when they are plain horizontal or vertical, they can fatigue the viewer. When angled and especially when asymmetrical, they can really add depth and perspective to a photo. Consider the way the offset lines draw you right into these images:
Sometimes the lines can be curvy or wavy, but the effect remains – grab your attention and pull it into the scene:
Within nature, we find the same organic trend towards perspective and symmetry.
But, by breaking the symmetry, we impart greater tension, interest and impact with our images:
Take note of the lines in your photographs. Strive to break the symmetry, shoot to add perspective and draw the viewer in. Give it a try!
With all the rain we’ve been having lately here in Saint Petersburg, things were looking pretty bleak for the fireworks display downtown, and by 8:00pm on the 4th, we still didn’t think we were going to have a show. But, wouldn’t you know, the tail end of the storms blew by, the skies cleared (somewhat) and we did have a show after all (we were much more fortunate than our inland neighbors in Tampa and points east, who were rained out completely).
Carol & I bundled up Ava, our granddaughter, and headed downtown towards the bay. We didn’t have time to find an optimum spot, so we settled for what we could get. Therefore, many of my photos have palm trees featured in prominent silhouette. Let’s just say, these are “Florida Style” fireworks photos, and pretend that it was planned!
I’m embedding a slideshow from Flickr, which is a first for me, so be gentle if I didn’t get it right on the first try 
Continuing my theme this week, I offer a few more images from our Florida summertime stormy weather:
One evening, after huddling indoors from the rain, Carol called me to the front yard to see the sky. The sun wasn’t shining, at least near us, but the clouds were illuminated with many colors, shapes and textures. It was eerie and awe-inspiring!
And, here’s another view of the Saint Petersburg pier, with the afternoon storms rolling in across the bay from Tampa in the east. This photo was taken while the sun was shining brightly at my back:
For the past week of so, I’ve had it in my mind to photograph a few local landmarks at the golden hour in the evening. Or perhaps even first thing in the morning. However, it seems every time I have a few minutes to break away, our Florida summer storms are right there to interfere with my light!
Oh well, when you have lemons, make lemonade – and when you have storms, make storm photos! Here are a few shots I’ve taken in the past week, taking advantage of the rainy weather here in Saint Petersburg.
