A new source of learning

As usual a chance encounter on YouTube and suddenly a couple of hours have gone as I consume one after another video from an inspirational teacher.

This time it’s Pat Kay, I’m surprised I haven’t come across him previously. He has a large subscriber base and I haven’t begun to near completion of his output but I thought I’d blog about him nevertheless.

I first started looking at his Visual Patterns series and have found it inspiring. Included in the series are titles such as Frames, Negative Space, Leading Lines, Contrast and so on. All provide an overview and detailed explanations on how the pattern works by looking at examples. The effect of watching some of these has had on me is to look and perhaps more aptly – ‘to think’ more carefully when working up a photographic composition.

Pat suggests that to embed the different patterns into your thinking it is best to concentrate on one at a time – so a week only taking photos where framing is the main focus, then a week where it might be leading lines and so on.

I’m going to try, though I’m not the best at sticking to rigid routines. I’ll start with frames as that is the first in his series. Here’s his video:

I went up to the allotment and, after cutting some lawn edges, I mooched around looking for some framing opportunities.

A really obvious one – self portrait in a window frame! I found the sky top right a bit distracting so reduced the highlights and it works reasonably well. It’s clear what the subject is!

A double framing here with the foxglove both within the main tyre but also framed by the four white buckets.

The wooden seat framed by the shed to the right and the fencing panels. I edited it to make the wooden seat just a bit lighter than the surrounding wooden framework.

Here the hose is partially leaving the frame but I don’t think it matters as it’s clearly the subject and that little rebellious section may even make it a more interesting a composition?? Was wondering about editing it into black and white but the yellow is quite punchy – I like it.

Pat Kay might have preferred this bucket to be centered but there’s no competing with other elements/ subjects – clearly the orange sunken flower pot is the primary (only) subject so I think it makes it more interesting to place it top right. The quarter circle of the tyre botom left reflects the curve of the white bucket and adds balance.

So what’s the subject here? I guess it’s the tin bath, then the cloud reflection, and finally the branches and pole reflections. With the bath as the frame for the latter. Does that make sense Pat??

Here the wheelbarrow handles frame the two greenhouses – not that interesting but certainly framing!

An upturned broken pot on a pile of rubble with I guess the drainage hole being the thing the eye is drawn to immediately, then the wider base, then the pot and drainage hole of the little pot just below.

Not sure whether this counts as framing – the shed side framing the ivy growth?

This last one from the allotment is busier than the others in the sense that perhaps it is less obvious what the subject is? I’d say I was looking at the red float being the first thing you would look at as it is framed by the water tank. However it is not the brightest so maybe the yellow hose is the first and the framing doesn’t quite work here. I like the fact that there are three different pipes and that the red of the float is also found, just, in the stems of the rhubarb just beginning to show to the right.

Later on I went for quite a long walk in the direction of Gillamoor again looking for framing opportunities.

Framing a field sign with early flowering blackthorn.

Gate framing the sun going down.

Framing by a hedge.

Peeking through two trees into the darkness beyond.

Came across this cattle trough which I might not have given a second glance but because of doing this exercise saw the fencing above … you guessed it …. helped frame the trough!

Even litter can be framed! Though I guess the surrounding green weeds could also be looked at as ‘negative space’? But I jumping to the next visual pattern I’m going to focus on!

And that’s it for today. Really good exercise to do.