Nostalgia

Four of our readers turn back the clock with a great moment in front of the lens.

“I took this photo at the George Dam. My husband, Willem, and I were walking along the dam that day when I saw people rowing on the water. I realised it would make a great photo and stood behind a tree branch. As they passed, I took the photo.”

In the photo, Madelein – probably unwittingly – breaks some rules of photography. But she does it in such a way that she turns it all into a solid and good overall composition.

Having the focal point right in the middle of the photo is usually not the best idea, let alone the wake disturbing the water – also centred.

The photo has several other strong compositional elements that subtly draw attention away from the centre and then balance it all. The branch – in the front right of the photo – covers almost a third of the image, but behind the busy twigs you can still see enough of the detail beyond. Even though these twigs have a lot of detail, you can easily see through them because of the clean and clear reflection behind it on the water. The vegetation on the opposite side of the dam forms a solid strip of detail on the third line, and the mountains in the background give the photo its ultimate depth.

The silent winners are the twigs in the other three corners. This applies to a lesser extent to the one on the front left, where the one on the top left rounds off the good composition. It’s as if these twigs, like fingers, direct your attention back to the centre.