Often you’ll hear artists talking about diagonal lines within a composition. Diagonal lines can be very important to an image because of how they affect the mood and visual impression of a scene. However, diagonals are not just about line. You can have diagonal shapes and patterns as well.
Diagonals are always dynamic elements within a picture. They create a strong feeling of movement because the eye wants to move along a diagonal. There is something about the human mind that wants to follow a diagonal line. We will also follow a vertical line up and down, though we won’t really follow a horizontal line. Putting a diagonal line in with a vertical or horizontal line will create a very dramatic contrast. That can be a dynamic way of using a composition, but it can also be very distracting and disturbing for the viewer. You have to be careful about how you are using diagonal lines, shapes and patterns.
Diagonals also give a very strong dynamic feeling to an image because most diagonals in the real world are objects that have some sort of tension to them. A diagonal will typically be something that is moving or has the potential of movement. Diagonal objects in real life can look like they are ready to fall down so there is always a certain tension there. In addition, we know that if something that can move is placed on a diagonal surface, it is going to move down that surface because of gravity. That doesn’t mean that diagonals used in your photograph are looking like things are going to fall or roll down – it just means that there is a tension and movement there that people react to.
There is something very interesting that happens with diagonals when they are combined with horizontal and vertical lines. They can look like they are a support beam. Think about when you play the game, hangman. Most people draw the hanging post with a diagonal line between the vertical and horizontal lines to make it look like it has more support.
Okay, all of this can seem very esoteric and not very applicable to that landscape with a stream running through it. Yet as you start to look at that scene, you will start to see diagonals there that can help structure your composition and create a stronger design. Once again, becoming aware of these elements of design will help you use them within your composition.
I’ll be in town this weekend between trips and will be spending some time on Saturday signing books at Kenmore Camera’s Customer Appreciation Day! The first 100 customers will be receiving a FREE copy of “Edge of the Earth, Corner of the Sky”, and my assistant Libby will be on hand with some other goodies. Other books will be available for purchase and signature, so come on by and check out the festivities.
Kenmore camera will be offering special savings for the event, so this would be a great time to come and pick up that gear you’ve been holding out for. A Canon rep will also be on hand to answer questions you might have about their products.
Hope to see you there! If you can’t make it but would love a signed book for yourself or as a gift all pre-orders of my latest book, “Trees: Between Earth and Heaven” will be signed and shipped out this fall!
It’s hard to believe we are half way through 2018! Summer is here and the flycatchers, chickadees, and hummingbirds are nesting in the yard. I wanted to take some time to update you on some exciting upcoming book news, as well as several new additions to the workshop calendar:
My latest book project Trees: Between Earth and Heaven has been sent off to the printer. We will have copies here in late October and I have a pre-order special going that includes a signed copy of the book and a small print. This will be another gorgeous, weighty tome—on the scale of Earth Is My Witness with three gatefolds and 296 pages. Once again Wade Davis has penned an introduction, and text is by noted author Greg McNamee. Please note that there will be a tree planted by Roots of Peace for every copy of the book sold.
Interested in being in your own Human Canvas? Recently I had a request from friends to do a custom piece with them as models and it turned out magnificently. I personally will work with you in creating your own unique piece. Please reach out through our contact page.
We’ve just posted seven – count ‘em, seven – new workshops for 2019! Highlights include Holi and tigers in India, Katmai Bears (I have locked down the best time to see them), and an autumn photo journey to Romania. Native son Gavriel Jecan will be co-leading in Romania with me and he will guide us to all his favorite locations in the magnificent Carpathian Mountains. We might see bears there too! I have also posted the 2019 editions of Abstract Astoria and Mount Rainier Wildflowers.
It’s shaping up to be a very full second half of 2018 and I am looking forward to some fantastic photo opportunities in 2019 and beyond. I hope you can join me for some of them! You can also save 20% on my current and very popular print of the month featuring a bear fishing in Katmai, Alaska – one of the locations you’ll find on my list of workshops – and check out my first half images for 2018. Keep in mind just about any image you can find in any of my books, on the website itself, or the stock site is likely available as a print – contact my staff and we will set you up with pricing and details, and I’ll personally sign it before we send it your way!
My latest book, “TREES: Between Earth and Heaven” will be available this fall, and if you preorder between now and October you’ll be sure to receive a personally signed copy as well as an 8 x 10 print of one of the book’s many images.
This 300 page book is filled with hand selected images of trees from around the world photographed over the course of my career. Photos range from vast expanses of forests to individual trees, as well as a focus on our cultural relationships with them. An introduction by Wade Davis kicks things off, and Gregory McNamee provides text that includes legends, lore, and literary accounts from across the globe relating to the great trees of the world as well as conservation efforts to protect them. I also share many of my personal views on these subjects as well as photography notes for included photos.
I’ve had a chance to visit the publisher and take a look at the early progress on this book, and I was blown away by the work that’s been done so far – this will be one any nature and photography enthusiast will want on their book shelf!
This month I’ll be skipping across the pond to attend and present at The Photography Show in Birmingham, England. This will be the fifth consecutive year the show will be held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC). From hobbyists and enthusiasts to seasoned professional photographers, this show will have plenty to offer everyone including demonstrations of the latest technology from leading manufacturers utilizing their latest gear offerings. Conferences, talks, and seminars from a variety of speakers will have something to offer everyone of all skill levels. Come and check out the photography event of the year!
This weekend is the Kenmore Camera Digital Photo Expo at the Lynnwood Convention Center, and due to schedule changes I’ll be able to make a surprise visit for a book signing this Saturday from noon to 1! Come down and say hello, and pick up a signed copy of the latest edition of one of my mst popular books, Earth Is My Witness. Immediately following my signing, my good friend Rick Sammon will be giving his presentation on the Evolution of an Image from 1-3 pm.
This is a can’t-miss photo expo and Kenmore Camera’s biggest event of the year. Aside from photographers like myself being on hand to hopefully provide some insight and inspiration, manufacturers will have their latest gear on display with plenty of deals on cameras and accessories. Rick Sammon and John Dibbs will also be signing their respective books as well.
If you can’t make the event, you can also order a signed copy of the new book in my online store. If you’re interested in the original fine art version of Earth Is My Witness, you can order that one here.
Hope to see you this weekend! Here are the details of the event:
Spanning the globe and bringing to readers the beauty of the planet’s disappearing landscapes, wildlife, and cultures, Earth Is My Witness will enchant and inspire those who enjoy traveling the world and who long for a connection with nature and exotic places.
Uniquely conceived and undeniably breathtaking, Earth Is My Witness contains a wealth of recent photographs as well as some of the most striking images from Art Wolfe’s widely celebrated career.
Order now to receive a personally signed copy of Earth is My Witness! Just in time for the holidays, The Art Wolfe online store is the only place to receive a signed edition of the book!
Here Wolfe presents an encyclopedic selection of his photography along with intimate stories about his encounters, which exemplify his boundless curiosity about the world. From the rich sights and smells of the Pushkar Camel Fair to the exact moment when a polar bear and her cubs leave their arctic den, these images represent what Wolfe has lived for: the instants when circumstance, light, and subject miraculously collide to form an iconic image. Together, these photographs and the stories behind them explore the delicate interconnectivity of life across our planet.
Setting the stage for this fascinating journey is award-winning author Wade Davis, who is on the Explorer’s Council of the National Geographic Society. Together, Davis and Wolfe present a world that borders on the fantastic and is all the more precious for its fragility. At the heart of Wolfe’s work is the appeal for environmental, cultural, and wildlife preservation, which he makes with beautiful, far-reaching precision in this definitive opus.
The new edition of Earth is My Witness is available here, just in time for the holidays!
For the original larger format fine-art edition, click here.
Photographer William Neill is now in the final design stages of his amazing new book release, “Photographer, A Retrospective”. I have seen the layout and it is going to be a beauty! In a week, he must have all the final book drafts in place and will be closing down all pre-orders and the benefits they bring. If you want to take advantage of this pre-order, you need to act now!
Pre-Order Benefits:
Collectors cover
Your name printed within the book
Special editions with original signed prints
Slipcase versions
Reduced pricing
Advance delivery by months
Click here for more information on the book and how to pre-order it!
Earlier this month in Germany, EDEN, the German edition of Earth Is My Witness, won two awards at ITB Berlin. ITB Berlin is the world’s largest international tourism trade fair.
EDEN, published by National Geographic, won the Special Award Presented by the Management of ITB Berlin and the Illustrated Travel Book Award.
The selection jury described their choice as follows:
“Art Wolfe succeeds in capturing nature’s diversity in magical and atmospheric moments.“ The author sums up his photography best: ”Most people will probably never travel to Bhutan or Pakistan. By enabling them to look at my pictures I would like them to feel as though they have been there nonetheless. I want them to feel what I felt in these places. In order to do that I need to capture as much as possible of the landscape, nature and culture of the people I encounter on my travels.“
