Category Archives: Graphic Design

Light, Color & Abstract Pattern

Posted on by

by Kerry Drager

“Discover the world around you” is great creativity advice for photographers. And sometimes that means going no further than your own front door. Literally! 🙂

The other day, our home’s entryway — with the textured glass — came alive with sunlight and color in late afternoon. I then moved in extremely close with a macro lens in order to catch the scene’s graphic-design elements: i.e., line, pattern, color and repetition. The colors, by the way, resulted from the outside welcome mat. :)))

Following are two different versions, and I like them both!

Textured-Glass-Design-2_KKD2858

Textured-Glass-Design-1_KKD2848

More Info: The details and settings are the same for both photos: Nikon D4. F/22 @ 1 second. 100 ISO. 105mm macro lens. Tripod.

Shooting Notes: The small aperture (f/22) helped achieve as much depth of field (front-to-back sharpness) as possible. With stationary macro scenes, a tripod is a must, along with a shutter-release cable and, if possible, mirror lockup (a feature found on many DSLRs, although a self-timer works too).

Here is a quick snapshot showing the overall (“before”) view of the entryway.

Textured-Glass-Design-BEFORE_KKD2881

Like what you see? Check out my website: kerrydrager.com … Also see a listing of classes, mentoring and workshops…

Advertisements

Graphic Design and Recycled Junk Art

Posted on by

By Kerry Drager

While looking for graphic-design scenes one day, I ran across something totally artsy and totally off-beat … a pattern of old light bulbs lined up in metal mesh 🙂 I captured this unique image at the wonderfully creative Junk Girls shop in Cambria, CA.

Junk_Art_Bulbs_KKD2109

A big “Thank You!” to owners Jenny and Melissa! As often happens after capturing an in-store shot, I then discovered some other very cool Junk Girls items to purchase for a future home macro project … so stay tuned… :)))

More Details: Nikon D4. I chose a small aperture of f/22 to capture as much depth of field (front-to-back sharpness) as possible. 1/10th second. 100 ISO. 105mm lens. Tripod.

Note: Here’s a bigger view of the scene.

Junk_Art_Bulbs_BEFORE_KKD2101

Liking what you see? Check out my kerrydrager.com website.  Also see my Learn Photography page — a listing of classes, mentoring and workshops.

Exploring Color, Line and Pattern

Posted on by

by Kerry Drager

A lineup of rental ocean kayaks caught my attention the other day — for two very good reasons:

1) Color contrast: Check out the warm tones (mostly yellows) vs. the cool greens.

2) Graphic design: Lines and patterns were the attractions here. Also, I slanted the camera slightly to make the already strong lines even stronger — as diagonals.

With my telephoto zoom lens, I zeroed in tight on the best parts of the scene, while leaving out surrounding distractions (see the overall view below). A tripod, by the way, let me frame my composition precisely (no need for post-cropping!), while also letting me get a deep depth of field (via f/22 for maximum front-to-back sharpness) and use a low ISO (100) for the best in image quality.

Ocean_Kayak_Pattern_KKD2749

As always, lighting was just as important as subject. Here, the light was just right — soft and diffused from an overcast sky.

More Info: Photographed at San Simeon Cove, William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach, California Central Coast. Nikon D4. F/22 @ 1/6th second. 100 ISO. 70-300mm zoom lens set at 170mm. Tripod.

By the way, here’s a “before” image that shows the overall view:

Ocean_Kayak_Pattern_BEFORE_KKD2766

Like what you see? See my listing of exciting classes, mentoring and workshops…