Find Your Eye ~ Recognizing Your Eye

I love this exercise that I did for the Find Your Eye e-course I'm taking with KatEye View!! We made an inspiration file a few days back where we were to pick about 20 favorite photos we had taken. The exercise today was to look for similarities in these photos.  She suggested several things we could look for. I'm a list  person. I love to make lists!! So, I made a list with each photo numbered down the left side and then across the top I wrote the suggested elements.  As I looked at each photo I check marked the elements that the photo contained and starred which element really drew me to the photo.  This probably doesn't make much sense, so I'll just give you the results and add a few pictures as examples.

All but one of the photos were of nature, no surprise there.

Form was the number one reason I loved an image! Now this surprised me! I didn't realize that it was the form or shape of an object that attracted me.

Light was number two - this didn't surprise me, I love light in photos. What surprised me was how many of my photos captured light. I think most of them were happy accidents. I don't think I was aware of the light or even looking for it! Remember, I'm new to this!! I'm going to work more on looking for light! But, I will say this, my favorite photo of light is below, I had been looking and looking for rim light and never seemed to get the right angle. When I went to take a picture these bean pods on my wisteria bush, I was just at the right angle and gasped...RIM LIGHT!!!

Details were ranked next on the list. I'm not surprised that details drew me to many pictures. I love to use the macro setting and fill the frame.  I'm fascinated by all the details that macro shots bring out...things I sometimes can't even see with my eyes. What surprised me was that it was not number one on the list!! 

Finally, I had several shots that texture was the appealing element. I love this shot with the soft shell against the gritty sand.

I then made another list, looking at the photos for emotions or feelings.  They fell pretty well fell into three categories.  A lot of me definitely comes through in my choices of favorites. I have a positive attitude and I think it shows. The majority of shots were happy, cheerful and bright, usually due to colors and shapes.

Other photos were soothing and brought a sense of peacefulness and quietness. The colors were more subtle and delicate and the lines softer.

And lastly I  felt a sense  of  amazing discovery in several of my nature photos.  I love to discover something that is out in my yard everyday and that I have never seen before.  I think I've taken a picture of every square inch of our property and nearby woods, yet I can go out tomorrow and find something my eyes didn't see today!

By the way, I found out these little mud jars were made by Potter Wasps. Food is placed in the bottom of the jar and than a single wasp egg is layed in it. When the wasp larva hatches, it drops to the bottom of the jug and starts to feed for a few weeks before emerging. Hope you don't mind the lesson, but I found these pots so very intriguing and just had to find out what they are! I've learned a lot about nature by photographing objects and looking up information about them!!

Maybe I haven't bored you with this long post on my photography journey! I really thought I kind of knew the elements I loved in photos, but now, I'm learning they may be a little different! And, I'm excited about going out next time with these elements in mind and looking for them as I take pictures.