Slickrock and Shadow

Lost Lake Dock -- near Whistler, Canada Photography composition is an essential element to any quality photograph.  Even when light may not be "golden", composition can make or break a photo.  Composition is personal.  Two photographers at the same location, photographing the same subject in the same light will come up with different results because their composition choices.   What are the elements of composition?  These things spring to mind for me.  There are others.   1.  Focal length of lens 2.  Distance from subject 3.  Height of camera 4.  Angle of camera (looking up or down towards the subject, or even on the side) 5.  Shutter speed (adding motion blur or smoothing water) 6.  Aperture (for depth of field) 7.  Symmetry or Asymmetry 8.  Lines and curves 9.  Dark and light areas Simply by changing any one of these, the whole photographic expression changes.  An example of  how shutte...

Pipiwai Trail through the Idyllic Bamboo Forest Waimoku Waterfall At the end of the road to Hana is Haleakala National Park, it's "seven sacred pools" (Oheo Gulch) and the Pipiwai Trail.  In my opinion, the Pipiwai trail is a much greater attraction than the seven sacred pools. It goes from the seashore up the canyon until ending at a 400 foot waterfall. Along the way there are two other major waterfalls, a picturesque banyan tree and a thick bamboo forest unlike anything else I have ever seen. The bamboo goes on for nearly 1 mile. I had previously seen several pictures of this beautiful trail. It is truly enchanting, peaceful and filled with sounds of the bamboo gently swaying in the wind. In reality it is also very dark . The bamboo comes together so tightly that most of the light is filtered out. Although the pupil can dilate to allow more light to see, the camera is not so complicated. To get a similar amount of light in, the camera has to have an open shut...