YOUR PHOTO

From the Kgalagadi and Namaqualand to the Kruger National Park and the cherries of Ficksburg... Pieter Venter, a guide from Bryanston, takes his customers far and wide to experience all the beauty of the country, phone at the ready.

Twinning through the flowers

“This is a farm road about 13 km past Nieuwoudtville, going towards Papkuilsfontein. The road doesn’t really go anywhere, but the flowers are beautiful here.”

This pic is seemingly “empty” and ordinary, but several elements work together to make it captivating: when you first look at it, it’s hard to look away.

Although it is a good example of passive composition, the photo has several strong compositional elements that complement one another. First up is, of course, the twin-track, which easily covers half of the photo surface, making it the focal point. But because the road leads away from you, your eye follows the trail to where it disappears in the distance. And this is where the composition draws your attention. The flowers on both sides of the road form similar triangles, and the line of the horizon is pretty cleverly just off the centre of the photo – not in the middle and not on the third line either. The yellow in the foreground and the blue at the top are also opposite colours in the light spectrum, and that also creates equilibrium.

Subtle repetition further reinforces the picture: the twin-track leads to the blue sky where two clouds – also in the middle – float above the road. It is as though these two elements connect the land and the sky.

But the most successful and strongest element is the twist in the road. This is what disturbs the overall balance and brings the photo to life.

The only criticism I have would be that the photo appears to have been taken at eye level, the level at which we usually see the world. A higher or lower angle could produce an unexpected, yet interesting, effect.