Instead of the usual subject-oriented theme, this month our organizer challenged us to compose five images keeping the Rule of Thirds in mind. I’ve been concentrating on leading lines and clean edges in my photographs lately, so this was a good reminder to keep all the “rules” of composition in mind when composing shots. I hope my application of the rule of thirds is readily apparent in the photographs I chose for this post, so my descriptions outline another perspective on how the rule applies to each image…
1. A Third of the Way There – Bourgeau Lake is about a third of the way along the total (return) distance when hiking to the summit of Mount Bourgeau. K reached Bourgeau Lake about 15 minutes before me and he called back on the walkie-talkie that the little ground squirrels were practically attacking him as they begged for human food. I had my camera ready as I approached the lake and caught him trying to photograph one of the most persistent beggars.
I find it hard to believe that the last time we hiked along this trail was 20 years ago. We were pretty new to hiking and we turned around at Bourgeau Lake. This summer I was determined to go all the way to the summit, because if it’s another 20 years before we hike this trail again I might not be able to make it to the summit! Mr. GeoK joined me on our successful quest to make it to the top. K’s knee was bothering him, so he waited for us at another lake further along the trail.
2. Three Weeks of Smoke (and counting) – Wildfires in Washington and British Columbia have been part of the nightly news for almost three weeks now nad I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like for those who have lost their homes or are living in day-to-day fear of having to evacuate. One evening, about a third of the way through the three weeks of heavy smoke we’ve been experiencing, the sky cleared enough that I could see the silhouettes of the buildings on the ridge just west of us as the sun went down, The sky turned so red it made me think of the saying “”red sky at night, sailors’ delight”. Those are some of the hundreds of crows that hang out in our neighbourhood.
3. Three Peaks – We’ve already seen the first snowfall of the winter of 2015/16! It didn’t reach the valley bottom in Canmore but once the snow stopped falling, Mr. GeoK and I headed out to photograph the short-lived juxtaposition of summer and winter. Low hanging clouds added a little more drama and I came home with a couple of different compositions showing these three peaks, cloud and snow. I really like the sense of drifting cloud in this one.
4. Three Times a Week – There are plenty of studies that say we could all benefit from 30 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week. If that’s the case, this runner is a third of the way to achieving her weekly objective!
5. Thirds – This is one of the photographs that is the result of lucky timing. Not only did I manage to show the dusting of early snow on the peaks of the Three Sisters, but I also ended up with three different “processes” in one image: the bottom third is (almost) sepia, the middle third is full colour and the top third is (almost) black and white. The colours in the middle third also remind me that with autumn rapidly approaching, we’ve only got about a third of 2015 left to enjoy.
That’s it from me this month. Click here for to see the link-up for everyone else who took part this month.
The September theme will be posted at A ‘lil HooHaa tomorrow. New participants are welcome to start the photo blogging challenge any time, so please join us for a good excuse to practice your photography!
I think you did a great job with the challenge this month. That runner photo is excellent. And I love — LOVE — the bottom one. That is one you should be putting on a wall somewhere. I love the look of it. Would love to set up a photo swap with you on that one. 😉
Lovely! Your take on the theme is wonderful. I love the red sky shot….but the reason behind such vivid color is sad. Your mountain shots are magnificent!
I love your photos, they are as good as always. I can see how you’ve used the rule of thirds in your images too. My fav is the ‘red sky at night shepherds delight’ (as we say in the uk).
We might say shepherds here, too, but I grew up sailing so that’s the version I know! Funny how there are regional and national variations like that.
Beautiful! Where are The Three Sisters located? I’m familiar with the Three Sisters in Oregon, but your mountains seem to be different than those.
Good eye! The Three Sisters I photograph at least a couple of times every month are in the Bow River Valley, just outside the gates to Banff National Park in Canada!
These peaks were called the Three Sisters in the traditional language of the Îyârhe Nakoda (the local First Nation, also referred to as the Stoney). The name refers to a story of Ĩ-ktomnĩ, the old man or trickster, who would promise ‘three sisters’ in marriage whenever he was in trouble.
Coincidentally, the peaks were also named the Three Sisters in 1883 by a explorer, Albert Rogers. He recalled, “There had been quite a heavy snowstorm in the night, and when we got up in the morning and looked out of the tent I noticed each of the three peaks had a heavy veil of snow on the north side and I said to the boys, ‘Look at the Three Nuns.’ They were called the Three Nuns for quite a while but were called the ‘Three Sisters,’ on Dr. George Dawson’s map of 1886 and that’s what they’ve been called ever since.
We’ve hiked up the shoulder of one of the sisters part way, but haven’t gone to the top of any of them – scrambling and technical climbing skills are required.
I love all your pictures this month 🙂
The Bourgeau Lake pic in my fave of these.
I’m always happy to get a candid photograph of my boys these days. As teens, they’re not that interested in being photographed by Mom! As for the Lake, I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t as pretty as I remembered. But there’s another lake a little further up the trail that’s absolutely lovely. I’m hoping to get my blog post for our Bourgeau hike posted soon, so you can judge for yourself.
Hey, I would love it if you checked out my photos and gave me some feedback! Great idea to have these contests.