Tired of the same old photographs in your social media feeds? It seems that when it comes to subjects, many photographers have a lack of creativity, lack of personal vision or simply a narrow range of subjects they feel are worthy of photographing.
When I set out to photograph in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine or even Iceland, I typically travel without a set subject or destination in mind. I wander an keep my eyes open for subjects of interest.
My photo subject might be a cluster of old cars by a vintage barn on a farm in Vermont.
It might be a collection of junk in front of an horder house on some side road.
Or even a net full of fresh herring in a fishing port in remote iceland.
Certainly themes and compositions are always running around in my head as I look around. Having a composition for a book cover or poster in mind helps me to visualize and plan out shots. It’s easier to organize the kaos in front of you have some composition ideas previsualized.
And it is always a good idea to shoot both the wide field landscapes but then zero in on the details. Often the small often overlooked details are far more interesting than the overshoot vistas which too often fail to capture a sense of the place anyway.
Details can often educate the viewer far better than a wide angle shot. Moving in close and focusing on the details or the working parts of the overall scene can fascinate and intrigue the viewer.
The viewer might be familiar with what a house is but showing how the house is constructed, decaying or looking closely the period details is often more interesting.
