I would like to welcome all of you who are new to Earth Images.  We have 328 posts for you to browse.  Nature photography, natural history and adventures in nature are the dominate themes, but if you are interested in a more unique flavor you might want to try War Stories, Planting The Seed or The Dance

I talk here a lot about how to use the rules of composition, and then how to break them effectively.  I also talk (and show) some of the more unique comps that I make.  Those that work, and sometimes those that don’t.  You never learn unless you try.  I have also written many thoughts about wildlife composition.  Composition with animals is just as important as landscapes, although we don’t always have as much to say about it.

I have unashamedly shown you many images of wildlife from the rear.  In many cases I don’t understand why more photographers don’t show this angle.  Frequently birds will give you an important and beautiful view of their feathers that you would not otherwise see.  They can also be good for a humorous look at the wild world.  Still at times the angle can be uncomfortable

I think with the American Kestrel below, the rear view, combined with the upward angle and the dull yet contrasty light, makes this shot a loser.  I could digitally alter the sky to bring the exposure on the bird and the blank sky closer together but I just didn’t think the image was worth the work.  This photo is close to being okay, but not close enough.

.The picture below is that of a Swainson’s Hawk, and was made in either Colorado or Wyoming.   It is in some respects an odd picture. The bird was on a telephone pole. It was quite close which made for another steep upward view.  Still this more intimate look at a species, has a warmer and more interesting feel to it.  Notice the image has been composed.  There is noticeable room in the direction the bird is looking.

I go to a lot of trouble to compose images with clean and simple backgrounds.  Sometimes you cannot get that shot and with colorful subjects like butterflies a group of soft out of focus flowers can give that nice dreamy quality to the photo.  We have to make choices as far as depth of field and the decisions we make will change the entire feeling of the finished product.  I truly wanted enough DOF to cover the whole butterfly.  When I did that (DOF preview lever) the background flowers were neither sharp, or soft as you see them.  They were merely slightly out of focus.  It did not work.  That scenario will often produce an image that looks like a mistake. When I shallowed my DOF I could not get the entire Monarch sharp.  Remember photography is all about problem solving.  I settled for a “shoot for eyes” approach.  I hoped that if I got the head and near-by area sharp, that the viewer would be comfortable with my intent, and therefore comfortable with the image. It is a close call that is all in the eyes of the viewer.

All great nature photography can’t be pretty. This Herring Gull scavenging a dead fish gave me the opportunity to create startlingly sharp detailed images of this not so pretty sight.  I live for moments like this and if this image was just a bit more unusual it would (in my opinion) belong in an art show.  What!!!  Art is in the eye of the beholder and telling nature’s story is not only photojournalism.  Still many of you will understandably view this shot and think yuck!, why in the world.

This comp below has a mamma Robin and her hungry baby soooo close to the edge of this “box like” nesting site that we feel almost Closter phobic.   If the other three chicks were showing as well it may actually become so confined and unusual (odd?) that it starts to become interesting.  This picture is (I think) mostly just crowded.

Then with this Tree Swallow we have the traditional image.  A clear and perfect blue sky. The bird is looking slightly downward and I left a bit of room in that direction. This is a three-quarter shot and so I also left a sliver of space to the right.  Pictures like this will never go out of style.  I  do see some similar shots where the photographer crams the bird into all of the wrong parts of the picture frame.  Wrong in my opinion and that of the rules of composition.

Most rules do make sense and they can lead you to success.  Still how boring would life be if all we ever did was follow the rules?  I often wonder how many times that I have been called odd, because of my desire to do things differently.  In the end I guess composition is about understanding those methods that work, but being willing to make those occasional “odd” pictures that might set us apart.