{"id":32996,"date":"2016-05-06T03:04:09","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T07:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/?p=32996"},"modified":"2016-05-05T15:05:29","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T19:05:29","slug":"a-common-weakness-in-perceptual-vision-skills-and-understanding-perspective-choices-as-they-relate-to-photography-and-suggestions-on-how-to-improve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2016\/05\/06\/a-common-weakness-in-perceptual-vision-skills-and-understanding-perspective-choices-as-they-relate-to-photography-and-suggestions-on-how-to-improve\/","title":{"rendered":"A Common Weakness in Perceptual Vision Skills and Understanding Perspective Choices as They Relate to Photography. And Suggestions On How to Improve"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>What&#8217;s Up?<\/h3>\n<p>Jim and I drove up to Gatorland early on Thursday morning. I worked with private clients Dixon and Carolyn Soracco of Portland, OR. Working with truly happy campers always makes me smile; I headed home with a big grin on my face after our working lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. More on Gatorland soon. <\/p>\n<p>Thursday was another good post-surgery day&#8230; <\/p>\n<p><center><noscript><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/servedby.flashtalking.com\/click\/8\/55973;1705289;0;209;0\/?ft_width=728&#038;ft_height=90&#038;url=9277912\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/servedby.flashtalking.com\/imp\/8\/55973;1705289;205;gif;BirdsAsArt;728x90\/?\"><\/a><br \/>\n<\/noscript><br \/>\n<script language=\"Javascript1.1\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\nvar ftClick = \"\";\nvar ftExpTrack_1705289 = \"\";\nvar ftX = \"\";\nvar ftY = \"\";\nvar ftZ = \"\";\nvar ftOBA = 1;\nvar ftContent = \"\";\nvar ftCustom = \"\";\nvar ft728x90_OOBclickTrack = \"\";\nvar ftRandom = Math.random()*1000000;\nvar ftBuildTag1 = \"<scr\";\nvar ftBuildTag2 = \"<\/\";\nvar ftClick_1705289 = ftClick;\nif(typeof(ft_referrer)==\"undefined\"){var ft_referrer=(function(){var r=\"\";if(window==top){r=window.location.href;}else{try{r=window.parent.location.href;}catch(e){}r=(r)?r:document.referrer;}while(encodeURIComponent(r).length>1000){r=r.substring(0,r.length-1);}return r;}());}\nvar ftDomain = (window==top)?\"\":(function(){var d=document.referrer,h=(d)?d.match(\"(?::q\/q\/)+([qw-]+(q.[qw-]+)+)(q\/)?\".replace(\/q\/g,decodeURIComponent(\"%\"+\"5C\")))[1]:\"\";return (h&&h!=location.host)?\"&ft_ifb=1&ft_domain=\"+encodeURIComponent(h):\"\";}());\nvar ftTag = ftBuildTag1 + 'ipt language=\"javascript1.1\" type=\"text\/javascript\" ';\nftTag += 'src=\"http:\/\/servedby.flashtalking.com\/imp\/8\/55973;1705289;201;js;BirdsAsArt;728x90\/?ftx='+ftX+'&fty='+ftY+'&ftadz='+ftZ+'&ftscw='+ftContent+'&ft_custom='+ftCustom+'&ftOBA='+ftOBA+ftDomain+'&ft_referrer='+encodeURIComponent(ft_referrer)+'&cachebuster='+ftRandom+'\" id=\"ftscript_728x90\" name=\"ftscript_728x90\"';\nftTag += '>' + ftBuildTag2 + 'script>';\ndocument.write(ftTag);\n<\/script><\/center><\/p>\n<h3>The Streak<\/h3>\n<p>Today\u2019s blog post marks 182 days in a row with a new educational blog post. As always-\u2013and folks have been doing a really great job recently\u2013-please remember to use our B&#038;H links for your major gear purchases. For best results use one of our many product-specific links; after clicking on one of those you can continue shopping with all subsequent purchases invisibly tracked to BAA. Your doing so is always greatly appreciated. Please remember: web orders only. Please remember that if you are shopping for items that we carry in the BAA Online Store (as noted in red at the close of this post below) we would appreciate your business.<\/p>\n<h3>A Common Weakness in Perceptual Vision Skills and Understanding Perspective Choices as They Relate to Photography<\/h3>\n<p>Many beginning and intermediate (and more than a few &#8220;advanced&#8221;) nature photographers have serious shortcomings when it comes to understanding how a change in perspective will affect the juxtaposition of the elements in their compositions. I see it often on IPTs when I ask, &#8220;What happens to the bird and the rock in the background if I move 2 feet to my right?&#8221; And I have seen it here on the blog, especially in these two recent posts:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2016\/05\/01\/my-favorite-namibia-image-does-it-get-any-better-than-this-only-two\/\">My Favorite Namibia Image: Does It Get Any Better Than This?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>and <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2016\/05\/04\/amazing-luck-a-venerable-animal-surreal-light-a-wonderful-photographic-opportunity\/\">Amazing Luck + A Venerable Animal + Surreal Light = A Wonderful Photographic Opportunity&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In each of those posts I asked what I thought was an easy peasy perspective question and was pretty much amazed when folks went off on seemingly inexplicable tangents. With the Gemsbok image, it seemed obvious to me that if you got lower, the out-of-focus ridge of sand in the foreground would cut off the animal&#8217;s feet. To me, that would have been a very big no-no. You can check out the more detailed explanation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2016\/05\/03\/the-gemsbok-answer-bad-truck-luck-and-lots-more-to-learn-from-a-single-image\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The same thing happened in the surreal elephant post when I asked why getting lower and photographing from the window would not work.  See below for the explanation&#8230; <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/african-elephant-at-waterhole-_r7a6316-etosha-national-park-namibia.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/african-elephant-at-waterhole-_r7a6316-etosha-national-park-namibia.jpg\" alt=\"african-elephant-at-waterhole-_r7a6316-etosha-national-park-namibia title=\"african-elephant-at-waterhole-_r7a6316-etosha-national-park-namibia\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>This image was also created at on the same afternoon of the 2016 Namibia IPT with the hand held <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1092632-REG\/canon_9524b002_ef_100_400mm_f_4_5_5_6l_is.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CA1004002LIS\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCA1004002LIS\" target=\"_blank\">Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/732113-USA\/Canon_4409B002_Extender_EF_1_4X_III.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CA14XEF3\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCA14XEF3\" target=\"_blank\">Canon Extender EF 1.4X III<\/a> (at 160mm) and the mega mega-pixel <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhphotovideo.com\/c\/product\/1119027-REG\/canon_0582c002_eos_5ds_r_dslr.html\/BI\/6633\/KBID\/7226\/kw\/CAE5DSR\/DFF\/d10-v2-t1-xCAE5DSR\" target=\"_blank\">Canon EOS 5DS R.<\/a> ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1\/1600 sec. at f\/8. Daylight WB. <\/p>\n<p>Center AF point\/AI Servo\/Expand\/Rear Focus AF was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding).The selected AF point was on the elephant&#8217;s throat. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2013\/10\/31\/if-this-doesnt-get-the-point-across-nothing-will\/\">here<\/a> to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial.  Click on the image to see a larger version.  <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Royalty on a pedestal&#8230; <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"728\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"90\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/mer54715.datafeedfile.com\/widget\/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=7226&#038;aff_net=1&#038;size=728x90&#038;mode=m&#038;bucket_num=7867&#038;link_target=y&#038;sid=\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\"><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iFrame.<\/p>\n<p><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Is a Lower Perspective Always Better?<\/h3>\n<p>With regards to the image above, I wrote, &#8220;Once this pachyderm approached the vehicles and posed for us, I went from the top of the van to the open window below and made a very few frames. Why did I go back to standing and photographing from below the raised roof? In this and many other cases, lower was not better.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I thought that the question was pretty straightforward (and still do) but several folks were confused so I followed up with this: &#8220;Why was it better to photograph from on high at from the roof than to go lower and photograph from the window?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The image below, made from a lower perspective, the open window in my row, answers the question very clearly. <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/mud-elephant-from-window-_r7a6306-etosha-national-park-namibia_ijfr.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/mud-elephant-from-window-_r7a6306-etosha-national-park-namibia_ijfr.jpg\" alt=\"mud-elephant-from-window-_r7a6306-etosha-national-park-namibia_ijfr\" title=\"mud-elephant-from-window-_r7a6306-etosha-national-park-namibia_ijfr\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2><strong>Mud elephant from the window, i.e, from a lower perspective&#8230; <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>It Seems So Simple To Me&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>When looking at the &#8220;Royalty on a pedestal&#8230;&#8221; image that opens today&#8217;s blog post, it seems completely obvious that if you get a few feet lower that the horizon would intersect the elephant&#8217;s head&#8230; As shown in the image above, made from the open safari vehicle window&#8230;. <\/p>\n<p>But time after time, here and elsewhere, we see evidence that many folks have difficulty picturing how a change in their perspective will affect the image.  Considering that the #1 factor to the success of any image is choosing exactly where to stand, where to put your lens, this is a serious problem for those who wish to improve their photography, birds, wildlife, flowers, nature, scenic, or otherwise. <\/p>\n<p>While reviewing images at lunch on an IPT I can remember dozens of times where I arranged a salt shaker and a ketchup bottle on the table and asked, what happens to the juxtaposition if you move to right? Or left? Sometimes that helps, sometimes not so much \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<h3>Suggestions On How to Improve<\/h3>\n<p>Whether hand holding or on a tripod, the next time that you peer through your camera&#8217;s viewfinder at two objects in the frame, ask yourself, what happens to the juxtaposition of these objects if I move left or right, or up or down.  If hand holding, actually move left of right or up or down and see how the relationship of the two objects in the frame changes. If your lens is on a tripod, remove it and move left or right or up or down, and note the changes as above. If you make it a habit of doing this exercise, you will soon be able to visualize the results without having to move physically. Acquiring this skill over time will make you a much better photographer. <\/p>\n<p>The next step in the process is to learn to consider the quality and direction of the light in the equation&#8230;  By doing that, you will learn to know how moving left or right or up or down will affect not only the spatial arrangements of the various elements of composition but the all important effect of light on the image. This a much higher level of skill than simply learned to visualize spatial changes.  But you first need to practice the basic skill before attempting the more advanced exercise of being able to see how the light will affect the image <em><strong>without actually having to move&#8230;<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/covera.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/covera.jpg\" alt=\"covera\" title=\"covera\" width=550 \/><\/a>    <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2><em>birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris\/The Top 100<\/em><br \/>\nThe companion e-book to the solo exhibit at TheNat, San Diego, California<\/h2>\n<p>The new e-book on CD is available <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=413\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3><em>birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris\/The Top 100<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>My latest e-book, created on a wing and a prayer in less than two weeks&#8211;see Harebrained Scheme <a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/2015\/12\/29\/hare-brained-scheme\/\">here<\/a>&#8211;includes the 67 spectacular images that will hang in the Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum in a career-retrospective solo exhibition. In addition, there are an additional 33 images in the spectacular e-book that barely missed making the show. <\/p>\n<p>This exhibition companion e-book makes it possible for everyone to &#8220;visit&#8221; TheNAT gallery and, in addition, to enjoy seeing my top one hundred bird photographs under one roof. Each image includes a title, the species name, the location, relevant EXIF data, and an anecdotal caption. <\/p>\n<h2><strong><em>birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris\/The Top 100:<\/em> $23 for the professionally produced CD (includes shipping to US addresses only) <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Please click <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=413\">here<\/a> to purchase the physical CD. As above, your purchase price includes shipping to all US addresses. If you would like your CD signed on the inside cover with a black Sharpie, you will need to place your order by phone and request a signed copy: 863-692-0906. For our Canadian friends we are offering the CD for $28 with shipping to Canada via phone orders only: 863-692-0906. <\/p>\n<p>Those who purchase the CD are advised to copy the file to their computers and then archive the CD. <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/e-bookcover.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/e-bookcover.jpg\" alt=\"e-bookcover\" title=\"e-bookcover\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>The new e-book via is also available via convenient download for $20 by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=411\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h2><strong><em>birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris\/The Top 100:<\/em> $20 via convenient download.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Overseas folks, and anyone else as well, can purchase the e-book via convenient download for $20 by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=411\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><em>Notate Bene<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Please share this e-book only with your spouse or significant other. If a friend asks you to share a copy with them, please direct them either to this blog post or to the appropriate link in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BAA Online Store<\/a> as above. All of the images and text are protected by international copyright law and may not be copied or printed without written permission from the photographer\/author. Many thanks for honoring these requests. <\/p>\n<p>You will&#8211;of course&#8211;need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF. <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/leastterncdbookpage.jpg\" class='shutterset'><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"ngg-singlepic ngg-center\" src=\"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-content\/gallery\/general\/leastterncdbookpage.jpg\" alt=\"leastterncdbookpage\" title=\"leastterncdbookpage\" width=800 \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>Sample page from <em>birds as art: The Avian Photography of Arthur Morris\/The Top 100<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Adobe Acrobat Reader Tip<\/h3>\n<p>To maximize your viewing pleasure, click Command + L on a Mac, or Control + L on a PC to view the e-book full screen.  And then press Esc to exit full screen. <\/p>\n<h3>Please Remember to use our Affiliate Links \ud83d\ude42<\/h3>\n<p>To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&#038;H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BIRDS AS ART Online Store<\/a>, especially the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=274\">Mongoose M3.6 tripod heads<\/a>, Induro tripods and ballheads, Wimberley <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/item.aspx?itemid=35\">heads<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=8\">plates<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/category.aspx?catid=17\">LensCoats and accessories<\/a>, and the like. We sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And we are always glad to answer your gear questions via <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>I would of course appreciate your using our B&#038;H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. <font color=red><strong>For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. <\/strong><\/font> Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BAA Online<\/a> store as well.   <\/p>\n<p>I would of course appreciate your using our B&#038;H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. <font color=red><strong>For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. <\/strong><\/font> Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.birdsasart.com\/shop\/default.aspx\">BAA Online<\/a> store as well. <\/p>\n<h3>Facebook<\/h3>\n<p>Be sure to like and follow BAA on Facebook by clicking on the logo link upper right. Tanks a stack!<\/p>\n<h3>Typos<\/h3>\n<p>In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to <a href=\"mailto:samandmayasgrandpa@att.net\">e-mail<\/a><\/center> or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s Up? <\/p>\n<p>Jim and I drove up to Gatorland early on Thursday morning. I worked with private clients Dixon and Carolyn Soracco of Portland, OR. Working with truly happy campers always makes me smile; I headed home with a big grin on my face after our working lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. More on Gatorland soon. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[599],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-599","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.birdsasart-blog.com\/baa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}