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Rule of thirds

We recently received this great tip written by Bryan Petersen in the Adorama Newsletter.  Sign-up for free at Adorama.com on the bottom right of the page.

The Golden Section a.k.a. The Rule of Thirds
by Bryan Peterson – PPSOP Founder

The Golden Section refers to a mathematical calculation whose answer equals 1-2/3, or 1.66. Although there is ample evidence that the Golden Section was in use by the Egyptians, for example in the building of the Pyramids, it wasn’t identified until later by ancient Greek mathematicians who, when studying the paintings of their fellow artists, began recognizing a “pattern”: objects in a scene were often two-thirds as large as others, landscapes often placed the horizon line with two-thirds of the landscape below and one-third sky above (or vice-versa), and in still life’s, artists seemed to favor compositions in which two-thirds of the frame was filled with the round shapes of fruit and the remaining third with the round shape of the bowl. These artists and architects had a “natural eye,” an innate sense about how to create compelling and effective compositions. Thanks to the Greek mathematicians, namely Pythagoras, this compositional arrangement became known as the Golden Section, a rule stating that when any object or shape had two distinct parts, the smaller part should be 2/3 the size of the larger part.

Fibonacci’s Rabbits & Engaging Photographs

In the area of composition, it is also important to note the ‘Fibonacci numbers’. Fibonacci was an Italian Mathematician who was famous for his calculations on predicting how fast and how many additional rabbits would result from two breeding rabbits in ideal circumstances. I will spare you the details, but a series of numbers arose from these calculations, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610…Do you notice the ‘pattern’ in this series of numbers? Beginning with 3, each number that follows is a combination of the two numbers before it e.g. 1+2=3, 3+5=8, 5+8=13 and so on. As if by default, Fibonacci’s numbers have a direct correlation to the Golden Section. Look at what happens when you divide each of Fibonacci’s numbers by the number before it: 1/1= 1, 2/1=2, 3/2=1.5, 5/3=1.666, 8/5=1.6, 13/8=1.625, 21/13=1.61 and so on and of course you have undoubtedly noticed the calculations that resulted in a 1.6 result. And it’s important to note that this 1.6 will go on forever when one divides each of the Fibonacci numbers by the number before it. Is this 1.6 result merely a coincidence?

Definitely NOT! What is perhaps most interesting about the Golden Section is that nature abounds in it. Just about every living and breathing thing in Mother Nature’s closet, from flowers and ferns to the smallest microbe, is evidence of the Golden Section. Perhaps I have stumbled upon the reason WHY so many photographers are drawn to flowers; they are comprised of ‘Fibonacci’ numbers. Lilies and iris both have 3 petals, buttercups, columbine and pinks have 5 petals, delphinium’s 8, some daisies and corn marigold have 13, aster and Black Eyed-Susan’s have 21 and check this out, Michaelmas Daisies have 55 petals; again, all of which are Fibonacci numbers. And of course flowers go to seed and not surprising a poppy seed head has 13 ridges atop the seed head and upon closer inspection, the Purple Coneflower and it’s ‘spiraling seed head’ totals 55 spirals and even the common sunflower has 89 spirals – ALL Fibonacci numbers again! And back to our friend, the Greek Mathematician Pythagoras; he may have been the first to realize that even the human skeleton was based on the Golden Section; sure enough, my upper arm bone is roughly 2/3 the length of my lower arm bone as is upper leg bone when compared to my lower leg bone.

Entire books have been written about the Golden Section, and discussing it in detail is beyond the scope of this short “how-to” article, but it is vitally important that I state emphatically that the use of the Golden Section in your compositions will more often than not lead to far more engaging and compelling photographs. The sooner you embrace it, the sooner you will start hearing compliments from complete strangers about your photographs.

To ignore the Golden Section, a.k.a. the Rule of Thirds, is to ignore the natural order of the very universe we live in. The rule of thirds “grid” really can serve you well. It can and should often serve as the foundation of a compelling image, much as a firm and solid foundation should be the basis of every house or skyscraper.

Using The Rule For Better Pix

As I drove down one of the many back roads in the Valensole Plain of Provence, my eyes caught sight of a lone tree in the distance. The first image I shot may look familiar to some of you, as it depicts what I often see from students in several of our beginner classes. The horizon line runs through the middle of the frame and the subject, the lone tree, is smack dab in the middle of the frame. But as we can see in the next image, it now “feels” better with the tree in the right third of the frame. And as we see in the next two images, it feels even better still when we place the tree on the right and the horizon line in the upper or lower third of the frame. Why? Because you are now catering to your “inner eye,” the eye that instinctively knows about the Golden Section and its desire for “1/3rd-vs-2/3rd’s divisions. (All images shot with a Nikon D3X, 70-300mm, @ 200mm, f/32 @ 1/60 second, 200 ISO)

You Keep Shooting!
Bryan F. Peterson/Founder PPSOP.com

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Nero’s Domus Aurea – An Ancient Rome Tourist Attraction Delight

If you are looking for a fascinating attraction in Rome, the ancient ruins of the Golden House of Nero have just recently been opened after years of being excavated and restored. This is great news because even though the house was found during the Renaissance period, it took a big recovery effort in the 1990s to finally make it available.

Nero’s luxurious home was built after the famous fire that almost wiped out Rome while Nero fiddled. Nero built his palace in 64 AD and turned it into a storehouse of riches and art works. When it was at its finest, there was gold foil everywhere and the ceilings were covered with fine gems and ivory. But these lovely things were stripped from the palace after Nero’s death.

Nero’s opulent home actually covered a huge 350 acre grounds which boasted fine vineyards and a lake made just for him. But something unusual about this “home” of Nero’s is that there were no bedrooms in any of the 300 rooms. This is not to say that during those wild orgies we know about, many didn’t just fall in a stupor all around the house and grounds.

One of the most striking features of the palace at the time was the 40m (130ft) high bronze likeness Nero had done to honor himself. This amazing art work is still on display outside the Colosseum.

Time has taken its toll on the Palace of Nero, but it’s still worth taking a few hours to go on the audio tour that is offered. It’s a fascinating and satisfying tour and if you are in Rome in the fall, the city is friendly and the weather perfect.

A great way to take in this ancient structure is through the guided underground tour that goes lets you view the amazing paintings in the vaults and rooms. This is a rare chance to see artwork done by the famous artist Fabullus who used the Pompeii artistic style.

For us, the artist Fabullus may not be well known, but great artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael were inspired by him, and those that saw his work at the Golden House of Nero left their names etched into the walls. Names like Casanova and the Marquis de Sade can also be found there if you look for them.

You won’t get bored on your tour – you will see some rooms in ruins where it’s difficult to see the artwork. Then around the next corner you will be greeted by beautifully restored rooms, their walls glistening with stunning art and gold and marble ornaments as striking as when Nero admired them.

It’s great to admire the many grottos in the underground rooms but when you get to the Octagon Room, that will be a memory maker. The art in this room was how Nero honoured the Greeks (he was a big fan of their work), including a wonderful statue of the Dying Gaul that is now on display at the museum at Palazzo Altemps.

You can conclude your tour with a view of the lush gardens. And don’t miss seeing a replica of the original octagonal room. It will help you feel what life in the ancient Golden House of Nero must have been like so long ago.

Tags: Travel Photography   Posted in Travel Photography

Get Insider Tips From Travel Blogs

If you too are among those who don’t expect travel companies and agents to be completely honest with you, then travel blogs are what you should check out. Since tour agents and travel companies take extra steps to convince a person how good a particular destination is, travel blogs can provide you the real details.

Travel blogs are written and maintained by real travellers, those who have visited different cities and countries – those who know what they are talking about.

You will want to know as much information as you can get before you travel to a new destination. There are certain regulations and health requirements that you may not be aware of. The weather conditions and certain aspects of the area are also important and useful information to have before you head off to your chosen destination. Travel blogs can provide this information in an accurate and straightforward manner. They are not trying to entice you to travel to the location, only give you the best information they can.

Travel blogs might focus on one area, such as news or guides related to travel destinations, or keep the posts different each day, with various topics. Discussions, commentaries, images, videos and recommendations are commonly found in travel blogs.

Travel blogs are dedicated to giving the most up to date and accurate information that is available. They will be able to give recommendations on hotels, restaurants and attractions you might want to visit or even places you may want to stay away from.

For the most part, readers can rely on travel blogs to be up-to-date and correct, but make sure you check out the author’s credibility before you believe anything that’s said in it. Some shrewd tourism companies use their own travel blog set-ups to promote their services in a way that’s undetectable immediately.

If a travel blog post sounds too good to be true when you read it through, you can be sure it’s not so reliable. All travel destinations have some faults and if the blog fails to mention something about them, you can’t trust the blog to give you accurate details.

Travel blogs provide great benefits for tourists who travel abroad. There are Asian countries with completely different cultures and societies to those from the West and Europe and knowing about all of this before you go will help you avoid possible accidental misdemeanours. An informed traveller can enjoy and make the maximum out of a visit. So, travel blogs are the reality-seeker’s friend online.

Tags: Travel Photography   Posted in Travel Photography

Planning Your International Travel

Once only the province of the wealthy and famous, international travel is now far more prevalent as technology has reduced costs and made it possible for the number of people to travel the world to increase dramatically. It is not as if you need to be rich anymore either as a good deal of the arrangements can be made online, and discounts can be had if you are willing to travel out of the normal peak travel times.

Although most of the best deals are in winter, the likes of Southern France, Italy, Spain and Greece have very mild winters so you won’t have to suffer the cold on your travels. If you want to save even more money you can look for villas, apartments or houses owned by private citizens who rent them out for shorter periods so you may be able to have a longer trip without a cost penalty.

Of course you can expect all the normal creature comforts when you rent the properties. There is nothing like having a breakfast when you are on vacation especially when you prepare it yourself and it gives you a chance to use fresh produce from a foreign country.

By having the facility to wash and iron you clothes you can save more money on having them professionally laundered and greetings cards can be sent for no charge over the internet. Experiencing a different culture is a great adventure and it’s the little things that really reach out and grab you; for example, European society is similar in many ways to American society but daily priorities are quite different.

Food is a much more drawn out event than our eat-and-run habit as meals are enjoyed slowly, seasoned with the friendship of your companions plus it is actually quite safe to go out at night in any major European city. Why not head off the normal tourist routes an explore the local areas where you can find some wonderful shops, cafes and the local business where you be able to get a feel for how the local population run their everyday lives. When in a foreign country a real international traveler will make sure that national and local dishes are eaten in typical restaurants or taverns like Italian pizza or Greek Kleftiko. Part of the experience of international travel is getting around, so become adventurous as large cities, such as Paris, have inexpensive and ultra-efficient transport systems making it easy to go anywhere you want.

This of course means that to do this efficiently, it is good idea to carry everything you need for the trip in a carry on, which will make things simpler; no lost luggage or waiting around the luggage carousel at the airport. This of course means that to do this efficiently, it is good idea to carry everything you need for the trip in a carry on, which will make things simpler; no lost luggage or waiting around the luggage carousel at the airport. It just means that you have to carefully plan what you will need to take and what you can buy at your destination, like toiletries for instance, which means if you can’t fit it into the carry on, you can buy it later. Travel does not have to be about huge luggage filled suitcases as truly adventurous travelers know.

Tags: Travel Photography   Posted in Travel Photography

Beautiful Waterfalls On The Big Island, Hawaii

The Big Island of Hawaii hosts a number of amazing waterfalls, located around the island with many of them near the city Hilo and if you are visiting this beautiful island you don’t want to miss out on visiting some of them.

One of the most most visited and probably most stunning of them all is Akaka Falls. This 420 foot waterfall is found north of Hilo and to get there you do about a half mile hike, through lush rain forest.

On your way up the trail to Akaka you will encounter the smaller, gorgeous waterfall named Kahuna. These two waterfalls, along with the beauty of the trail makes this hike one of you best picks for an extraordinary nature experience. Because of its easy access it’s also great if you don’t have much time but still want to get in touch with some beautiful landmarks of the Big Island.

On the north side of the island you find Waipi’o Valley. Here you find a lot of cascading waterfalls along the sides of the valley together with nature that is so lush it has an almost magical feel to it.

To reach the valley you can go by car and some of it can be viewed from there, even though it’s highly recommended to get the hiking boots on and explore the area on foot. Among the hundreds of waterfalls found here, cascading down the mountainsides is Hi’ilawe, which is one of Big Islands most cherished waterfalls.

Rainbow Falls is another amazing waterfall that’s located close to Hilo. You get there easily by car and the easy access in combination with the magnificence of the 80 feet falls into the 100 feet wide clear blue pool, makes it one of the favorites to visit. The best time to see Rainbow Falls is in the mornings, with less tourists and the sun rising over the trees. Why not go on an early hike on one of the trails to get the most spectacular view of the falls?

At the World Botanical Garden of Hawaii, located north of Hilo you find the picturesque Uma Uma Falls. This is a tree-level fall that pours down into three small, tranquil pools all surrounded up by beautiful lava stones and trees and plants. The garden is a quite new establishment and has not yet been landscaped fully, so it still gives you a feeling of being in the wild.

These are some of the beautiful places where you can enjoy the wonder that a cascading waterfall is while at the Big Island.

Tags: Travel Photography   Posted in Travel Photography

Be Sure to Remember These When Traveling

Most people treasure the experiences of traveling abroad. The experience is really invaluable. You can see and learn so much when you are traveling. What is even more important is that you will not be have the experience by merely reading books. After the trip, you will have more energy so that you can deal with the challenges you will face.

Yet you should also be very careful when you are traveling. This is you may also have to face a lot of dangerous situations when you are travel. You need to take extra care during the trip. You should try to consider the following safety tips when you are traveling.

First of all, if it is possible, you should avoid arrive your destination late at night. Of course it is sometimes difficult to avoid this especially when you are traveling by air. However, if you are arriving the airport very late at night, you can stay in the airport for the night and start your trip next morning.

Taking a taxi can also be something dangerous. You need to be taking extra care when you take a taxi. As a matter of fact, there may be people who run some unofficial taxis. Remember, you are suggested to take an official one rather than these kind of vehicles.

You are not advised to travel on your own. Yet some traveler may love to travel alone since they love the feeling of being alone when traveling. However, you should not do that if it is possible. It is very dangerous to travel alone and you will find it a lot more difficult to seek for help in case something happens.

Some people tend to wear something expensive. They may also put on some expensive jewelries when they are traveling. You should not try to show off. There may be people who will try to rob travelers if they think you are rich.

When you are in the train stations, remember to take care of your luggages. This is even more important when you are trying to take photos in the stations. People may try to steal your luggages when you are taking photos.

Remember, your safety is always the number one issue to be concerned when you are traveling. As a result, you should bear the above in mind so that you can make sure that you can have a safe trip.

Tags: Travel Photography   Posted in Travel Photography

Must-Haves for Frequent Travelers: Yearly Travel Insurance

Visitor health insurance is a good insurance option that has appealed the market for a particular target population. Generally, the targeted population consists of travelers. Many visitors are keen on visiting different countries for different reasons.

For some, it could be a good way of relaxing during the holiday season. Others may wish to visit their family settled in a land different from theirs. Some others may be frequent travelers owing to business. Whatever the reason maybe, visitors insurance is being considered as a viable way of insuring one’s health in a foreign land.

Visitor medical insurance can also be purchased on an annual basis. These annual policies are more suited for the people who travel overseas more than once a year and make sudden plans for such travel. Mostly, people travel either for business purpose or to spend quality time.

The aim of this type of insurance is to cover expenses regarding medical treatments, personal accidents, trip delays, loss of passport, and similar problems which a traveler can encounter. These plans may cover just a single person or his family as well. Note that the premium required to be paid for kids in joint plans is less than adults and is proportional to their ages. Premium for spouses varies from plan to plan.

Annual visitors health insurance may cover a number of risks that a traveler may run into. The first is the risk of personal belongings being destroyed, lost or stolen. However, each company decides the maximum amount that it will offer per article of a personal nature. Such policies also cover any inadvertent delay in the belongings that may cause a person some loss or discomfort.

Moreover the annual visitors medical insurance policies are also designed to cover loss of money during the travel. The traveler’s medical condition also is covered under these plans and therefore the traveler gets money for paying the medical expenses.

Generally, annual visitor medical insurance policies are single trip in nature. It permits only one trip a year. The duration of trip may be up to ninety days in case if the traveler is less than sixty years of age. A traveler can take a holiday for duration of forty-two days if he is more than sixty years of age.

Other may be extended to cover personal liabilities, personal accidents, delayed departures, loss of passport, legal assistance that may be needed in a foreign land etc. Some insurance companies may also include unique features like winter sport cover, disaster cover in light of a natural calamity etc. Many of these insurance companies are now extending their visitors insurance policies to cover wars and acts of terrorism as well.

Tags: Travel Photography   Posted in Travel Photography