4 Alternatives To Cropping Your Photographs – Both Old And New Ways

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Edges Darkened

Edges Retouched

 

So you don’t want to crop your image. What other alternatives could you consider to minimize distractions? Here are four.

Color - LHS

Contrast is an eye-catcher. So, if you don’t want elements to catch the eye, reduce their contrast. There are three types of contrast; luminosity, hue, and saturation. Depending on the situation, you may need to use one, two, or all three. Take your clues from the overall image and the immediate surroundings of the elements you’d like to direct attention away from. Rather than sleight of hand, it’s sleight of eye.

Blur

One of the strongest ways to deflect attention from an element is to blur it. The more you blur it, the less focus it will demand. Blur it enough, and it will disappear into its surrounding field of color. Take care to manage transitions between blurred and sharp areas convincingly (as if the blur happened in camera rather than in post-production); if they aren’t handled well, the blur will stand out as artificial and attract attention rather than reduce it.

Distort


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33 Resources To Help You Enjoy The World’s Best Photographs Of 2022

Enjoy viewing 2022’s top photography collections!

 

Bloomberg Photo Essays

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38 Great Quotes About Light

Enjoy this collection of quotes on light.

” Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman

“What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are light and time.” – John Berger

“Wherever there is light, one can photograph.” – Alfred Stieglitz

“Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy – your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself.” – Annie Leibovitz

“To love beauty is to see light.” – Victor Hugo

“Science is spectral analysis. Art is light synthesis.” – Karl Kraus

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” – Aaron Rose

“I find the light and work it, work it, work it.” – Janice Dickinson

“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep.” – Le Corbusier

“I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener.” – Arvo Part

“The substance of painting is light.” – Andre Derain

“In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light.” – Hans Hofmann

“A picture must possess a real power to generate light, and for a long time now, I’ve been conscious of expressing myself through light or rather in light.” – Henri Matisse

“There are two kinds of light – the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.” – James Thurber

“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.” – Theodore Roethke

“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.” – Sir Francis Bacon

“Darkness is where we begin and where we end. We don’t usually see light traveling in the darkness of space because we only can see its reflection on substance.” – Ala Bashir

“The beginnings and ends of shadow lie between the light and darkness and may be infinitely diminished and infinitely increased. Shadow is the means by which bodies display their form. The forms of bodies could not be understood in detail but for shadow.” – Leonardo da Vinci

“You can’t have a light without a dark to stick it in.” – Arlo Guthrie

“Why is it called ‘after dark’ when it really is ‘after light’?” – George Carlin

“The artist’s vocation is to send light into the human heart.” – Robert Schumann

“There are two ways of spreading light… To be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” – Albert Schweitzer

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller

“We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.” – Ben Sweetland

“As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha

“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” – Leonard Cohen

“When you possess light within, you see it externally.” – Anas Nin

“Do not worry if all the candles in the world flicker and die. We have the spark that starts the fire.” – Rumi

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.” – Rabindranath Tagore

“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” – Og Mandino

“If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.” – Rumi

“We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future.” – John F. Kennedy

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” – Carl Jung

“Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.” – Yogi Bhajan

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Enjoy A Global Survey Of Sacred Places In Chris Rainier’s New Book

 

Chris Rainier’s new book Sacred offers a soulful global survey of sacred places.

While there are portraits (what Chris is best known for) of the people in the cultures who grow out of and make places more sacred through their practices, this collection of images focuses more on the monuments and artifacts left behind and includes places that have been minimally impacted by and in a few cases places that have never been inhabited by humans. The mysteries of time permeate this work, rooted in the present and looking both back and time and toward an uncertain future.

Find the book Sacred here.
Find out more about Chris Rainier here.
Visit Cultural Sanctuaries here.
Follow Chris Rainier on Instagram here.

Read our Q&A here.
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12 Great Quotes By Photographer William Neill

Enjoy this selection of quotes by photographer William Neill.

“I learned that being in nature could not only be fun but also restorative and healing.”

“Living here has been an inspirational education, a mentorship taught by the landscape itself … What I’ve learned is that Yosemite, beyond its role as a nature preserve and place of recreation, is a sanctuary for the spirit.”

“I refer to nature’s beauty as my ballast in the storms of life. Seeing the beauty that surrounds me, and surrounds everyone, every day reminds me there is so much that is good in our world and gives me hope that the arc of history moves towards peace and kindness and beauty.”

“Seeing nature and looking for photographs is a daily practice for me.”

“I can see how “hunting” for images is a term that makes sense for how most of us find photographs. I prefer the idea of being a receptor for inspiration, for seeing what moves me.”

“You can best honor the landscape by becoming the best artist you can be, showing your own point of view and not regurgitating other’s point of view.”

“As for a responsibility of a landscape photographer to the audience, just be authentic to your vision. Share your knowledge of place and technique.”

“Be an activist for your favorite landscapes. If you are inclined towards environmental issues, use your images to educate others about what might be damaged or lost. As an artist, use your vision to share what you love so that they might love it, so that they might help them portray and preserve endangered landscapes themselves.”

“Historically, using beautiful landscape photographs have helped convince the powers that be to regulate and protect their use. We needed to strike a fine balance between protecting places and loving a place to death.”

“I’ve written that it can be helpful for some to “write their story” but it is not required. It is more important for you the artist to understand what you want to say and know how to say it. One way to do this is to write it out to help clarify your reasons to photograph for yourself and for the viewer.”

“By creating photographs where the content or orientation is not obvious, an intimate and enigmatic feeling can come through. I would rather make an image that asks a question than one that answers one, one that intrigues and arouses curiosity in the viewer.”

“My favorite photograph quote was written by Minor White, “When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don’t leave until you have captured its essence.”

Learn more about William Neill here.

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