Happy Monday, everyone!
What a whirlwind week and weekend it has been. Several business opportunities and an Eastern Shore travel trip have kept me away from the online life for a few days. I have some catching up to do in terms of site visits and other online activities but I first want to thank everyone for coming by and supporting this site while I was away.
In terms of new business, I hope to break some news here in the not-so-distant future. For now however, let’s move on to today’s image.
We often hear of the many do’s and don’ts of photography and why it is important to follow these tips and general rules. But there are times when we may be tempted to break the rules and go more radically in a creative direction. Take today’s image of the USS Torsk for instance. I have chosen to completely ignore the “rule of thirds” here in order to include some other elements into the frame that I thought were important to my goal of showing this historic submarine in a manner not seen before. Yes, rules are created to guide and assist us and with great result more times than not. Then there are those times of exception.
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Docked outside the Baltimore Maritime Museum, this “Galloping ghost of the Japanese coast” (nickname) saw service in 1944 and 1945. It resides in this harbor among other historic ships like the Taney and Constellation. You can read more about it’s history here, but back to that “rule of thirds”. Do you strictly follow this rule or sometimes create compositions that ignore it completely?
As you can see, the target of this image is located in the top 1/3rd of the frame but I’ve used the pier posts to lead the way.
My vantage point was from the base of the World Trade Center, as seen on the shot position map below.
Thank you for visiting and I look forward to some of your comments below.
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In case you missed it this past weekend, here are Enough Awesome Photography Links to Drown a Fish!
I am with you that rules are made to be broken Jimi. It is important to understand the rule and why you should follow it but when the photographer wants to stray from it to create something different, he should do it. Nice image by the way.
Len Saltiel recently posted..Vanishing Point
Even though you broke the rules, it’s still a great shot. Actually the elements work together to form an interesting abstract. Nice job, Jimi
Mark Neal recently posted..HDR – Governor’s “Palace” is Quite Royal
Cool shot and explanation Jimi! Well done
Adam Allegro recently posted..Camping under the Ruins
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. Beautiful image Jimi.
Edith Levy recently posted..The Pier at Bar Harbor Inn
I’m with you and many others that the “rules are meant to be broken”. I consider them a guide, but usually go with my “gut” and “vision” of how I see and want to capture a shot. Great write up and shot Jimi!
Rich McPeek recently posted..Fallen
Rules such as the Rule-of-Thirds are there to act as a starting point to consider during composition, not the be-all and end-all of creating an image. You have used the leading lines as a perfect structural element in this image, so it is not as if you have completely ignored the formal side of the composition. I think this image has worked out very nicely.
Mark Summerfield recently posted..Star Ferry Hong Kong
Nice Jimi! Sometimes you’ve just gotta break the rules.
Curt Fleenor recently posted..Clouds and Clover
The rule of thirds is really not a rule, just a guide line. Feel free to break it anytime.
ken bello recently posted..Butterflies are Free to Fly
nice rule-breaking Jimi!
Jim Nix recently posted..Olympic Park waterfall
Rules are only good when they work.
Nice job breaking them here.
Steven Perlmutter recently posted..Graves Light
Rules! Bah! What I really like is your use of leading lines in this image Jimi. Well done.
Jason Hines recently posted..The Big Picture
[...] Maritime Museum is located. It consists of several ships, including the USS Constellation, USS Torsk and the US Coast Guard Cutter Taney, to name a few. I like the fact that the many ships are spread [...]