The use of negative space as an element of composition in art has intrigued me since a long time time, I just haven’t really pursued it much in my own photography yet. If you follow my blog permanently, you already know that earlier this week I had some good moments shooting while the morning fog lifted after a rainy night. This photo was created just seconds before the scene cleared up. The trees in the background and their reflections on the water are still just a hint of slightly darker gray. The color version of this image isn’t much different, not indeed, but I didn’t like the kinda dirty looking yellow tint from the sun mixing with the fog. Heritage Pond is right beside the highway and can be busy with people fishing and other recreational activities at times. The photo may suggest it was shot at a location far away from civilization. Of course it was not, but for a few seconds it made me feel like it was…
WORKING AGAINST THE GRAY
Is there still some story telling in a photo if nothing but a gray overcast with fog, and as a result snow that looks gray, dominate the scene? At least I gave it a try last weekend during our annual ice fishing event with friends up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I was hoping for some great light moments, but they never came this time. One way to suppress the overall gray is to find some colors. The nicely stacked fire wood beside the cabin and a little bit of fresh snow draw the attention away from the gray sky.
In the second image negative space was used to depict the contour of the lake shore. In addition the dark spots of the slushy snow on the ice of Fay Lake tell the story of a gray and relativ warm winter day.