Photo: (c) 2008 Joani White, Kenya
Thank you, Joani White!
Good job. Good photograph.
Let me tell you why I think this is such a fine photograph.
1. It follows Mzungu’s Big Five Rules for creating great photographs: One – Background emphasises the subject and produces no visual competition; Two – The Subject is the only star on the stage; Three – the Edges of the image are clean and offer no visual distractions; Four – the Visual Line, provided by the body of the giraffe itself creates a lovely and effective visual line leading right to the head; and Five – the Simplicity of the image is pure and beautiful.
2. The cropping of the original image emphasizes a harmonious visual balance.
3. The image has “legs to stand on”, meaning that the shape and darkness (‘value’ to an artist) of the giraffe’s body in addition to the grass, serves to visually anchor the image.
4. The choice of monochromatic, as opposed to color, serves to emphasize the balance, shape, texture and pattern of the image.
5. The camera angle creates a more unique view of a giraffe than the typical image — most of which show the front or side views of the subject — which serves to make this image more interesting.
Joani was one of my ‘explorers’ in “The Great Migration”, a photo safari to Kenya in October, 2008
Mzungu
www.rogermoorephotography.com
