A Photo a Week Challenge: The Rule of Thirds
Photography – Garry Armstrong and Marilyn Armstrong
The whole point about this rule — which is not a rule, but a guideline — is to try to urge photographers to not put everything dead-center of the photograph. Moving things around so that they are off-center make the picture more “active” and interesting. It gives it a sense of “action” that moves the viewer’s eyes.
Blackstone River in Rhode Island – Photo, Garry Armstrong
Except when you absolutely need something right in the middle and there are pictures which call of that.
Hey, you’re a photographer. Guidelines are useful, but they are not a replacement for artistic judgment or using your eye to get the picture the way you want it.
Marilyn with the camera – Photo, Garry Armstrong
Yesterday, Garry and I went out shooting because it was a nice day and the rest of the week will be alternatively gray, rainy, very rainy, monsoon-like, and chilly. We’ve had the wettest April on record and I’m hoping May won’t be equally damp.
Half my garden has drowned in the mud and I can’t even try to fix it because it’s still raining and the ground is like quick-mud.
A chubby dove – Photo: Marilyn Armstrong
We went down to the Rhode Island end of the Blackstone River yesterday. Why there? Because they are doing roadwork on our street in the direction of town and now that they’ve passed laws against driving while dialing, everyone makes their phone calls or sends texts when they are at a stop sign.
Two Goldfinches – Photo, Marilyn Armstrong
The result is a really slow progression of cars. Since all of our local roads are just two lanes (in some cases barely even two), one slow car stops everything.
We went the other way where there was no traffic. And we took pictures.
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Categories: #Birds, #BlackstoneRiver, #Photography, Photo A Week Challenge
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Yes — it is just a guideline — but you have some pretty great examples here! Love the dove with the blue ring around his eye. And the river shot is also a good example of leading the eye into the shot. A nice post!
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Thanks. I notice that I almost ALWAYS crop my pictures so the main subject is off to one side and I’ve always done it, even when I never heard of the rule of thirds. I think if you have a good eye, you do it instinctively anyway.
Try following me again. Maybe that will help. I’m following you, so you ARE linked to me, but that’s me to you, not you to me. I can’ only fix my end of this and I’m pretty sure you being screwed by WordPress.
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That chubby dove is beautiful. Oh yes, that blue eyeliner was not lost on me!
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Lovely photos, and great composition! Blackstone River looks absolutely beautiful. And I’ve never seen a dove with blue eyeliner before! Well done. 🙂
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All of our doves seem to have blue eyeliner.
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That Dove has been making hay at your feeder.
Leslie
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We are the center of Doveville. They sit on the rails, wander around the deck picking up seeds. Two of them decided to mate on the rail the other day. I think We are going to have to build a bigger deck.
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Don’t encourage them, Marilyn, they’ll over take you.
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Good photos, too.
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Thank you. I knew this challenge was up, so I intentionally shot appropriate pictures, but honestly, I usually shoot off-center anyway. It makes things more interesting graphically.
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