SECRET CODE... and the (new/old) RULES of PHOTOGRAPHY?

SECRET CODE...

The title came simultaneously as I saw it, just an unpretentious image of something that made me laugh ... 

A bit of humour? Somebody called it 'chaotic minimalism'... is there such a thing? 

(for larger size click on the image!)
One of the first images I took, on the first morning in Fuerteventura, outside the hotel, that's how it came out of the camera and I love it, hope you do too.
Photography has a 'CODE', it is fluid, like all good things, stagnating is not good, new gadgets mean new styles, new media means new rules or should I say 'adapted'?
Here is something I think EVERY photographer enthusiast or pro, semi-pro, whatever... SHOULD read!!! ENJOY!!!
The few rules of composition are acceptable only as reference points, which may have many valid exceptions. Sometimes breaking the rules is a means to obtain a good photo. Of course, this is true if and only if the photographer is aware of what he’s doing.
So, here is how Feininger, in his book, dismantles many academic rules:
1. The golden section (and, I add, the rule of thirds, ie. to place the subject at 1/3 from one edge of the photo), while ensuring peace and harmony, can be boring.
2. The “S”-shape curve is one of the most repeated patterns in photography
3. The theory of “guidelines”, which lead the viewer’s eye to the main subject, is false, as demonstrated by scientific studies. The eye quickly detects the most interesting part of the picture. And then, not necessarily the main subject of the photographer coincides with the center of attention of the observer.
4. Threads of compositions based on triangles, diagonals and other refined geometric figures exists only in the minds of photographers who have invented them. The academic observer who is free from preconceptions, does not care about such rules.
5. The horizon line should never split the photo in two equal parts, to avoid a monotone (boring) images. But if the photographer wanted to express the sensations of boredom?
6. Movement and action should always proceed from left to right, according to the normal sense of the reading. False: Jews and Arabs read from the right to the left!
7. The space in front of the subject should be greater than the space behind him. It is not always true: for example, a running person, placed towards the edge of the picture in the direction of its motion, gives an impression of arrival, and this is important when you are photographing sporting events (such as running races in athletics).
8. In the portrait, when the subject looks at the camera, you should leave more space in the direction of his eyes. False. Violating this rule can give a state of tension to the photo.
9. The bright parts of a photo catch the eye more than dark. False, a dark form with well-defined boundaries, in a large and clear area, immediately attracts the eye.
10. Repetition and spatial periodicity of similar elements can produce interesting patterns. False. There is no reason why a grid or a series of many identical and uninteresting objects is better than one object worthy of interest.
On the other hand, as Feininger said in its book, there are at least three rules in which he has never found an exception:
1. The small white areas of the subject or of the background situated near the edges of the photo gives the impression of a print “gnawed by rats”. These areas should be burned (blackened) in the darkroom (or cropped)
2. Curves and round forms should never touch the edges of the photo, but should be cut with courage, leaving out of the picture a not negligible part of the curve
3. The straight lines should not end in a corner of the photo, but should terminate at a certain distance from it.
Hope your day is filled with smiles and thanx,M, (*_*)
For more of my other work or if you want to purchase, visit here: www.indigo2photography.co.uk
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY UPLOAD-SITES...

ANY photo upload site is a place where you open yourself AND your images to outside 'factors'!
Someone complained that they were 'gaming places'!
And indeed, ALL of them are gaming places.
Like in any game, there are specific rules which you accept when you sign up, and either you play the game ... OR you don't... there IS NO MIDDLE-GROUND!!!
PLUS: YOU are on your OWN!!! Site owners, I am sure like many politicians, started out with good and idealistic intentions... then... the success and money started to come in... that is it... no more help or care... why should they? Forgotten are the people who actually 'made' their site (career?) successful, that is the way it IS TODAY in this world we created!
The sooner one accepts that, the sooner the stress will go.
There are people on the sites without any photographic incentive, interest or motivation, all they want to do is cause problems, they are the bullies and saddos... they are the ones afraid of you and your talent, it shows them up. Did they remain stuck in childhood or very bad puberty?
The Site-owners are NOT prepared to do anything about this 'problem', they must be overwhelmed by emails, don't bother to answer, creating even more grief and miscontentment, members try all kinds of tactics to stop it, to no avail and they often are the ones who get banned?
Most of the sites have a life-cycle, I see them come, I see them go, I have yet to see the 'PERFECT' one.
All I know, is... if I conducted my business in this way and mistreated my clients as such, not listening to anything they have to say, categorically sticking to my opinion... I would NOT LAST VERY LONG, certainly in this economic climate!

I am on sites, as I said before, to build up a portfolio, and some have served me well. I USE them to expand and broaden my social media profile (wow, another MUST today!!!), next thing you know, I'll be doing nothing else... no more photography lol.
I made a choice though, I do not have time for twitter or Facebook, what little time I have is for my (free) photography, my lovely husband, my faraway family AND the friends.
I made some fantastic friends over the last 8 years on these sites, quite a few I have met, some I am going to meet very soon... so, yes, I am happy!
All the rest is just useless annoyance and I am not going to get my knickers into a twist for THAT anymore, I'm way past that!


I just shrug and continue with the GOOD!!!
Maturity and wisdom (like good wine, cheese...) comes with age..., my dear friends, it is not that I don't understand your frustration, however, you are fighting a losing battle I'm afraid, do NOT give them the satisfaction of not uploading your images... that is what they want ultimately, take out the best photographers and they become the top Rooster! Once that happens, start looking for another, newer site, caus this one is dying...
Enjoy your photography! M, (*_*)

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A PHOTOGRAPHER, IN SPAIN. DAY 3, Part 2. MIJAS

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Please do not COPY or use any of my images on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved.

It is a nice, wide drive up the mountain, and the closer we get, the more attractive Mijas looks.
However as we enter, the outer peace and quiet rapidly changes into a touristic nightmare. Cars parked everywhere, people everywhere, horse-drawn carriages in a line, donkey-rides.
We come to an open square with a park, although it is late afternoon, it is very crowded, and surrounded by colourful souvenir-shops. (4),(5).
We find a parking yard, and start walking, determined that you have to ‘experience' everything in life? LOL.
Paul forgot something in the car, I carry on; first I see the donkeys, standing in a row, they look tired, hot and are plagued by flies; I read they are called Mijas taxi… (1),(2),(3) 
They are extremely decorated, and lots of people with children stop and give them a pat, which they seem to enjoy.
Moving on I get accosted by all the men sitting outside their shops, they all want to sell me something, a leather jacket, a handbag… it is the last one, perfect for me, and, just for me, a very special price!
I smile (oops, mistake) and try to wave them off, they ask how much will I spend? How many Euros do I have, Paul comes and rescues me, whisks me away… we are still laughing about it, the LAST one… everywhere we went!!!

We pass the horses, and again I notice how decorated and polished everything is, except the horses, they look unhappy. Great for photography though, I do take a few details.(6),(7).

We search for the famous tiles and ceramics in Mijas and find them, take some images, there’s a man roasting chestnuts(8), surrounded by the older locals, all joking and teasing each other, their Spanish is too fast for me to understand, it’s like a machine-gun.
Passing the restaurants and eateries, we are constantly approached and invited in…
The light is becoming interesting, so no thanks. I must say they are tenacious?
As we get further away from the center, into the narrow streets and the white houses, adorned by beautiful  ceramics(9), wrought-iron decorations (10),(11),(12), gorgeously crafted wooden doors, at last we discover the real Mijas and love it. (13),(14),(15).
It is the night of Halloween, the children, dressed up, go from door to door, many are open, that gives us a chance to glance inside, we are greeted with “Hola, buenas tardes” (hello, good evening), no, we do not photograph, which would be too invasive.
Surprisingly, there are no fireworks or noise!
The sun disappears, there is a nice afterglow, the lights come on, it's magic.
The horse drawn carriages pass us on their way home, the clippedy-clopping reverberating in the evening, going home, done for the day.(16)
We notice that there are cables crossing the skies, the electricity, as you see in the images, seems to run outside the houses!!!(14), (17)
Unbelievable and unimaginable in England, the people from 'Health and Safety' in the UK would have a heart-attack, on the spot!

Eventually, we track back, have a pizza (?) in a place that looks very Spanish, we’d wanted paella, turns out it is ‘Italian’ and roasted meat orientated, judging from the roaring open fire. We are too hot, tired, thirsty and hungry to take shots.
Well, we do get serenaded by a Spanish guitar-player Bernardo Plaza Torres, (18), (19), a shy man, we do have a chat and he does happily agree to me taking a few impromptu portraits of him, I notice a sadness about him and I also hear it in his music...
All goes well and, as a thank you, we promptly buy his CD, the only one we have for the whole holiday, all our drives and trips… I know it by heart now, and it was often amazing how well it fitted with the ‘landscapes’ we drove through.

We head home, again with a smile and content with our day, knowing that we'll probably see Mijas again, during the week, hopefully a little more quiet?

Already looking forward to tomorrow.

M, (*_*)