One interesting thing I found. When I was a teenager I developed an interest in photography. I discovered and was told that I had a very good talent for composition. People would look at a photograph of mine and comment on my use of lines to compose a photograph. People often think of composition in terms of solid objects, while I tend to study the lines the objects make: edges of roads, pipes, the horizon, etc.
I was also drawn to the photographs of Edward Weston who I think had the best talent for photographic composition of any photographer ever. He used an old 8x10 view camera so he usually only had one chance to make a good photo so his perception of the final picture had to be there before he exposed the negative. Most difficult when the view in a view camera is upside down.
Anyway, Charis Wilson his wife and assistant, discovered one day that the key to the composition of most of his photographs was to look at the edges of the photograph and consider only the lines that met at the borders of the picture. These lines as they traveled through the composition were what led the eye from outside the photo to the various parts of the composition within the photo, and also separated various contrasting areas. Its a lot easier to do this with a black and white photo, but this method of balancing composition will also work in a color scene as well.
I just realized that there is a parallel between this idea and some of the ways people use driftwood in an aquascape. I think of a piece of driftwood as more of a series of lines in the aquascape that lead the eye, balance the different parts of the composition, etc.
I think Carlos probably agrees with this.
Steve Pituch
