AboutPat G Expertise I can answer questions about the artistic aspects of photography, and tricks for shooting landscape, scenic, macro, and animal photography. I am familiar with Pentax SLR cameras, both film and digital. I have also done work in urban photography and creative photography, and I am familiar with creative uses of filters and lenses. I am familiar with composition and color theory, and know how to make use of light. I can answer questions about things like lightning photography and moon photography. I spend time studying the techniques of the well known photographers. I work exclusively in color. Although I travel anywhere and everywhere in pursuit of landscape and scenic photography, my main area of expertise is the American southwest, and I am familiar with many scenic areas. I also have familiarity with the plants of the Sonoran Desert, having studied not only their appearance but also their uses, including ethnobotany. See my educational credentials for other art that I do.
Experience I have spent the last ten years as a semi-professional photographer, selling my work on the internet, and having won international honors. The gallery of my most recent work, where I usually post frequently is http://patgoltz.deviantart.com/ I will take questions about how I did various photographs.
Education/Credentials The first prize I won for my art was when I was in third grade. I have a bachelor's degree in art from Ohio Dominican University, where I learned mainly ceramics and glaze calculation. I have also done various kinds of fiber arts. In addition, I do digital landscapes, abstracts, and fractal art.
Question Hello again,
Please try again. Go to www.flickr.com in the space provided on the right hand side type apostolosphotography, press "search". It will show nothing in the section "everyone s uploads". Make sure to highlight the section "people", and then press again search. Good luck!
Thank you
Answer Konnichi wa.
I found your album this time, and looked at everything. I'm not an expert on architectural photography, but I do have some observations that I hope will help.
You have certainly found some interesting buildings to photograph! Wish I could have a chance to photograph them, but I might not produce award-winning photos, either!
When I explain these things, some photographs are good, and not subject to these problems, but hopefully as you look at your own photos, you will start to see them differently.
The first thing I noticed is that you have a tendency to divide your picture right down the center with some vertical line. It's usually just a tiny bit offset. But it would be much more interesting if you were to observe the Rule of Thirds more often.
The Rule of Thirds is roughly based on the Golden Mean. I recommend you do a little research on the Golden Mean and learn what it is, and why the human eye reacts more favorably to it. The Rule of Thirds divides the photo left to right, and top to bottom, into thirds. For the best composition, the focal point of interest should be along one of these lines, or at or near the intersection of a horizontal or vertical line.
Your pictures tend to be underexposed in the daytime, and lack color. Yes, you are often shooting under adverse atmospheric conditions. I recommend you lighten them a little in a photo program, and increase the color saturation a little. They don't have the contrast necessary to be good black and white photos. You might also want to try some special effects.
You also have a tendency to photograph buildings straight on. An angle is much better. Look for an unusual angle. Take a photo of the entire building for your own amusement, and then move in and get a detail. Again, try for an interesting angle. Tilt your camera if you have to!
Take lots and lots of pictures, and cull like crazy. The mere fact that a building is interesting doesn't necessarily mean that you should display the photo of it. If you don't have a digital camera and you can afford one, get one so you can take hundreds of pictures.
Look for unexpected elements. A couple of your pictures had a shadow of a building part in the foreground. I noticed one in particular that had some kind of black structure that totally drew my eye away from what you were probably trying to show me. Zoom in or out, to give you more room to play with composition. I saw one photograph taken at night, with the street going smack dab down the middle, upward in almost a vertical line, with a huge mass of dark building on the left. Shift your camera to the right.
Rules are meant to be broken. But learn them first. One photographer I'm thinking of, David Muench, likes to photograph desert scenes with a wide angle lens. The foreground takes up almost the entire picture, and the mountains in the background are de-emphasized. He highlights something in the foreground, or even the texture of the ground. It's almost a trademark with him. And a photographer can develop a similar style, but it needs to be done only once the basics of composition have been mastered.
Study other people's work, particularly people who do architectural photography and win awards. Be very observant. Look to see what makes their photo interesting. Learn to see. And when you look at a building, see what draws your eye. It will probably be an unusual detail of some kind. Another thing you can try is to put a plant or flower in the foreground and let the building be an afterthought in the distance. If you are photographing a neighborhood, maybe the car on the right is the most interesting thing. Walk up to the car and around it, and get a photo of the headlight with the string of buildings up on the right above the hood of the car. This sort of thing. One woman I met took a picture of a building reflected in the glass of another building. Sometimes this can be very effective, especially if the reflected building's image gets distorted by the glass.
I saw one photo that showed a number of angled slabs in the front. It was early in your album. I found the angled slabs very interesting, but the horizon with a building strung along it at the top was level, and it would probably be more interesting if you tilted your camera slightly. Just make sure none of the angles in the front is now horizontal; keep that angular feeling.
I don't know how much help this will be, but I do hope it helps. Good luck. Let me know if you start to see things with a different perspective.
