Postcard from the Arches – A Little Closer

Last time, I wrote about taking the photographic wide view any given place…but qualified that with insisting that the photo must have some intrinsic value as art, rather than just a photograph.

Now, we are going to move in a little closer, to get a shot of something important in a given landscape. This photo was taken in the Arches National Park in Utah. I’ve shown you pictures from this place before. It is filled with subjects to shoot, mostly arches, of course. But anyone with a camera can photograph an arch. The trick is to make it more interesting.

I had to walk about 1/2 mile on a trail to get this shot. Realize that at this point I am surrounded by all kinds of natural things…small and medium size rocks, sand, trees, a large fin, and of course, and arch. I see all these things with my eyes and it is wonderful. My brain is flooded with images. But, as a photographer, I must choose a subject, focus down a little closer, then try to make it a more than a snapshot, but a work of art…hopefully.

The obvious choice of subject is the arch. But, to make it more interesting and give it depth, I search for the right spot to make a picture. I found it pretty quickly. I am fascinated by dead trees that have a haunting, ghostly quality. That is my foreground. The green Juniper tree and the other desert plants give me a middle ground. And of course, Skyline Arch is my background. As an added bonus, I have a cloudy blue sky for deep background and a trail leading from the lower right up into the center of the picture to give it additional depth.

All the elements combined provide my image with depth and character. The arch is still the subject of the photo, but your eye follows from the foreground to the arch. While no photograph can capture the sense of being in a special place like this, a well-composed image can provide some measure of satisfaction of having been there and satisfy one’s desire for beauty.

So, the lesson here to remember is when photographing a subject in nature, try to give it a foreground, a middle ground, and a background. The real subject of the photo can be placed in any one of these three places (in this case the arch is in the background). It isn’t always possible to do this, but it should be the first thing you ask yourself when you see a subject you wish to photograph…how can I give it depth and quality?