Shapes, Organic and Geometric

The first thing I noticed was the drain. I saw how it was made up of a pattern of circles within a larger circle. I liked the repetition, so I decided I would try and take a different angle at it. At the time I took the photo, the camera is actually facing my body. If I hadn't done that, the background would have been all one shade of dark gray. By turning the camera and photographing towards myself, I captured a small lip in the fountain, which gave the background a few lighter shades to compliment the dark circles.

Composition

Composition is the number one thing that makes a great photograph. As the one taking the picture, you can control what is in the photo, where it's located, and how it looks. Most importantly, you decide what the focus point is. In this image, I approached a normal object (a lamp) from a different perspective. By placing the lens along the stem of the light, I created a strong curved line that flows from the right-third of the photo right into the focus point.

Motivation

    My favorite things to photograph are landscapes. Nature in general is really amazing, and nothing says art to me quite like the natural arrangements that occur in nature. The vast array of colors, lines, and textures can make some fantastic photos. Besides nature, structures (like buildings and other man-made objects) provide lots of strong lines and often include a degree of symmetry, which can be interesting.
    The number one thing that motivates me to be successful is the quality of my work. I always want to produce something that I can be proud of. I am the type of person that works slowly, and puts in a lot of thought before making a decision, like taking a photo. This leads me to work at a slower pace than most, but typically I adapt to the needs of what I'm doing, in this case taking 45 pictures in 45 minutes. As a teacher, I respond well to constructive criticism, and specific advice. I like to know what it is specifically that I can do better.