One Man's Trash

I recently took some shots that really surprised me. I had about a roll and a half of shots I was sure were going to be pretty good. They had been carefully taken with tripod at night of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. I wanted to process the film so I stopped by some junk to finish the roll. I knew I had some decent late morning light left and but I was totally amazed when the film came back. I had trusted my instincts and found some real treasure.

Subtle is Nice Too

Whilst it's true that more colour and contrast can often improve an image there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all. This bit of sunset sky, for example, was a very soft scene. To be successful as an image required soft processing. In this case it means an image whose tones are all compressed around a small area near the centre of the tonal range. To maximise the contrast on this image would be to destroy it.

Focus is Optional

Sometimes something can be a good subject -- especially at night -- if all detail and other points of reference are taken away. The subject here is one of the light banks which light the exterior of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and two palm trees. There forms are still just about recognisable and there is nothing else to be seen. This makes for a really -- pardon the pun -- focussed image.

Balance in The Frame

This is one of those areas that takes some judgement. There are plenty of rules of thumb. Some having to do with thirds, some with diagonals, some with logarithmic spirals. All of these are useful things to try but at the end of the day the best thing is to look at your picture in a small size and judge it for yourself. Often just a few pixels in one direction will throw the balance off of a picture. After a while you will get a sense for what works.

Find a Detail

When visiting a great architectural marvel like Doha's Museum of Islamic Arts there is a natural desire to make the building the star of the show. A great building, though, has often had so many good pictures taken of it that it is hard to come up with something fresh. Always keep your eyes peeled in all directions. I was attracted to the two large spotlight grids that light the museum's exterior. The lights are a nice shape and the shafts of light against the night sky are satisfying.

Combining Elements

Often a good picture can become a better picture if you can combine some things in one picture not often seen together. What appears in this picture is a night shot of Doha's Museum of Islamic Arts which would be a reasonable picture in its own right. By getting the moon and star and mast of the ship all loosely aligned through the centre of the picture, however, the picture has been given more interest. Always be careful that you are not detracting from the central theme of the picture. Strong pictures are usually simple.