Lighting

The first photo is shot from an angle so the light basically only hits the highest section of the cactus, that section is shaped like a heart.  The rest of the photo below the heart is dark with the heart lit up and emphasized.  Above it is light and the heart connects and transitions between the two.  The second picture is from below the cactus up and out so the suns lighting's turns the cactus black and takes away the texture and color.  This helps to take the emphasis away from the cactus and put it on the bird that is caught flying through the frame.  The third photograph is peaking through the shaded cactus and into a lit up a whole.  The whole stands out due to the lighting.  Inside of the whole we are peaking through there is a window but you cannot make out the image which adds wonder some question to the photo.  The lighting allows you to chose where the audiences attention is drawn quickly.

Texture

 

The cactus has an ever evolving texture with wounds in some places and broken off pieces. The first photo I shot from along one piece of cactus that had fallen off.  You can see the close up texture of the cactus on the dead piece as it points toward the rest of the cactus standing tall.  The cactus has texture on the surface and in depth.  The depth is emphasized by the light.  Second I found the opposite side of a fallen piece that was still attached to the plant.  The texture looks chewed off and you can see living parts of the cactus around it to emphasize the wounded portion.  The final photograph is of a scar on the surface of the cactus.  The scar is set along the right divisional line of the rule of 3rds.  It also creates balance in the photo from right to left.  You can see the texture on the right is more cracked and the color has turned to brown.  On the right the texture is smoother with spots and wrinkles. 

The Rule of Thirds

For the rule of thirds I used two of my photos from the in-class activity where we shot around campus and one of the cacti.  The first photo is shot ffrom just above ground level at an angle close to 90 degrees from the concrete.  The idea is to divide the photo into thirds with the emphasis on the lines created.  I used the lines on the concrete to show the division and further emphasize the pigeon that was walking across the frame.  For the second photo I found a sculpture the sun was shining on at an angle that created a shadow projected on the building behind the sculpture.  I placed the sculpture in one divisional line and the shadow in the other line.  This is more pleasing to the viewer then just symmetrical photos.  The third photo shows how the cactus can create this effect as well.  By setting the cactus in the dividing lines it becomes the main point of the photograph.

Emphasis

To Emphasize is to lay stress upon the object to demonstrate its importance in the photograph.  To do so, I first used the cactus as a frame of a door in the background.  The emphasis is on the door.  The door is in the shade but the ground in front of it is still lit up.  An additional frame made of shade surrounds the door.  Second, I used the cactus of a frame of another frame; the window in the background.  The reflected image is the emphasis of this image.  The third photo is of the only part of the entire cactus that had turned another color.  It is dead and unattached but the contrasting color to the cacti behind make it the focus point of the photo.

Photographic Perspective