Climbing Rope
1/64sec; F/14; 121mm; ISO-400; Metering Mode: Spot
talen 2/11/14@10:46AM

Too Cold to Sit Upon
1/21 sec; F/22; 79mm;ISO-100; Metering Mode: Pattern
2/11/14@9:32AM

Bananas
1/332 sec; F/5.7;108mm; ISO: 3200;
Metering Mode: Center Weighted Average
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 step
1/14/2014@8:15AM

When you lack humans or creatures to treat as your subjects, and you don’t want to work at a selfie, consider inanimate objects. Capture them while focusing on basic elements of design, such as line, color, shape, form, pattern, repetition, space, balance, and texture.

Isolate that subject or a part of that subject when you frame it. Instead of recording the standard eye-level vantage point, consider a change in perspective, such as getting down low and looking up or going higher up and looking down.  Imagine how the image would look on a billboard or gallery wall: REALLY BIG.

Don’t fuss with extra lighting, just use what is present and experiment with your lens apertures and light metering options and ISO levels. Take a series of images of the same subject from different perspectives and orientations (vertical/horizontal). See my next post for one subject viewed from 3 different perspectives.

If you shoot 25-50 images and get one great one, it’s time well spent. It will sharpen how you see what is before you. It will enable your skills, so when willing lifeforms present themselves, you can pounce! Frankly this sort of image work can be compelling eye candy.