I took this picture while hiking up the Purple Mountain Trail in Yellowstone National Park. The shot from a higher ground allowed me to show more of each element (bison, tourists, and vehicles) in the frame. A shot taken from a higher angle shows clearly the size of an element relative to its environment. I …
Inside the Frame: Buena Park Downtown
Had I not shot up the signage, I would have shot an everybody’s snapshot. I placed the signage along the rule-of-third lines and used it as a strong foreground. The bright light at the top right intersecting rule-of-third guide lines was strategically placed, too, otherwise, it’s just a distracting glare.
Inside the Frame: Candi Ratu Boko
The temple in the middle of the frame is the most famous backdrop to take pictures with around sunset time. I went to a higher platform to show the overall setting of the temple. By pointing down the lens, I effectively took the picture of the temple from a high angle. I used seemingly stray …
Inside the Frame: Cliffwalk at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
The opportunity to take pictures from a higher vantage point is rare–take it. I took this picture from a platform above the Cliffwalk–suspended walkways off the granite cliff face. I ensured to include a bit of platform on the top left of the frame to act as a foreground. The main subject–a portion of Cliffwalk–was …
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Inside the Frame: Victoria Beach
My tripod legs were on the sand, with the sea water constantly sweeping under. It wasn’t easy to capture bracketed shots before the sand shifted slightly and moved the tripod along with it. Capturing the water movement, though, was worth the effort. For a strong foreground, I placed the outcrop on the left, occupying about …
Inside the Frame: Golden Gate Bridge
I was on a hill above the fog when I shot this photo. In accordance to the rule of thirds, I placed the fog on the lower third of the frame. The fog nicely framed the city as well. Lastly, the negative space (which I couldn’t avoid) brought balance against the scene on the lower …
Inside the Frame: A Flight to Yogyakarta
Some would see the window frame as an obstruction, but its inclusion actually provided an important context–that the picture was taken from a plane. The window frame in the foreground also gives some idea about how far the plane was from the summits. I could’ve used a telephoto lens, zoomed in, and made the summits …
Inside the Frame: Christmas Tree in Crystal Cove
I rarely shoot a full-length Christmas tree because a shot of a lone, tall Christmas tree is a snapshot (a photo a non-photographer takes). Most Christmas trees are alike as such, introducing another element in the frame will separate your photo from the rest. The wooden reindeer makes a perfect strong foreground because they’re the …
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Inside the Frame: The Market Place Irvine’s Christmas Tree
Definitely not another Christmas tree. The tree is sponsored by Anaheim Ducks that’s why I chose to shoot it from really close to show the Anaheim Ducks’ logos and text on the ornaments. For the same reason, I let the tree occupied two thirds of the frame–an application of rule-of-thirds composition pattern.
Inside the Frame: Mount Whitney
What’s the best way to show the height of a summit than the reading from a GPS device? A GPS device leaning on a hiking backpack place prominently on the foreground at one of the most important positions on the photo undoubtedly says we just hiked a really high summit. A group of hikers sitting …