[Leica] Thanks to BD and John Szarkowski

[masonster at gmail.com (David Mason)]

I never see these rules as hard and fast but I think they can really
help make a shot out of nothing. I also think that trying to use some
of these elements to accentuate the meaning of a photo is quite
powerful. For example, I did a series of photos of a father/son metal
working team and I wanted to use hard-edged triangles to accentuate
their medium which would always have a hard time being shown on film
(as their pieces are so large).  It may not have worked, I remember
getting almost no LUG feedback ;) but it helped me see the subject and
it gave me an approach to shooting that I wouldn't have otherwise.
That, to me, is the power of these "rules".

e.e. cummings once wrote in a response to a 13 year old girl's letter
to the 1920s magazine "The Dial" that one must learn grammatical rules
so one knows how and why they are breaking them.


Dave



> On Feb 20, 2005, at 9:38 AM, B. D. Colen wrote:
> 
> > Nope. I honestly don't see the point in all the 1/3rds, triangles, etc.
> > Learning how to control exposure? Sure. Learning about depth of field
> > and the difference in lens perspectives? Sure. But compositional
> > "rules"
> > etc? No way.