How To Photograph Uncommon Beauty
The color of the slime in a stagnant pool produces harmony with the surrounding trees and a vivid contrast with the predominantly orange color of the walls in a Hindu temple in Bali, Indonesia. Beauty is everywhere, it's all a matter of perspective.
The world is a beautiful place and beauty presents itself in a myriad of different forms.
I'm interested in the concept of uncommon beauty. In this case I was stumbling around, in the heat and humidity, at a temple complex in Central Bali.
I noticed how the color of the slime in a stagnant pool produced harmony with the surrounding trees and also provided a vivid contrast with the predominantly orange color of the walls in a Hindu temple in Bali, Indonesia.
Beauty is everywhere, it's all a matter of perspective. Don't you think?
The view from my hotel window in Bangkok, Thailand. More abstract than picturesque.
Room With A View, Bangkok, Thailand
I wouldn't call this a particularly picturesque scene. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the abstract nature of this view, onto a concrete wall, from my hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand.
Bangkok is that kind of place: busy, urban and crowded. Yet beauty exists in the faces, poise and tranquil nature with which many of it's citizens go about their daily life. Beauty can be found in the most ordinary of places, but beauty is also a concept that's created in the mind's eye.
An arrangement of colorful barrels, stacked by the side of the road in Ubud, Bali make for a vivid and symmetrical composition.
Barrels Of Fun In Bali, Indonesia
This image is a personal favorite of mine. On one hand it's a collection of colorful barrels, stacked by the side of the road in Ubud, Bali. On the other hand it's the arrangement of these barrels that makes for a vividly colorful and symmetrical composition.
So, from my point of view, the image is not so much about a collection of barrels as it is an image that explores color, shape, symmetry and repetition.
The composition has become the subject of the image. You could even say that the composition has become the image.
I’d encourage you to seek out and explore uncommon beauty where ever you can. The best part about it is that you’ll likely find examples of uncommon beauty in your own home or neighborhood. Such explorations are visa and inoculation free yet, from a creative point of view, can be just as rewarding as a trip to an exotic overseas destination.
