Picture This

Our Picture This! assignment this month was Pen and Ink, in which we asked readers to send us images that emulated a pen and ink drawing, that is, reducing the image content to line, texture, and form. Software makes it easy to convert an image file to just about any type of illustrative format, from oil paint to pastels and more. There are many ways to achieve the effect, but as with all images it’s how the content matches the technique that counts. Readers sent in all types of subject matter and achieved the effect in various ways, all of which show how malleable images are these days and how working with software can open up new ways of seeing and sharing images.

Our Picture This! assignment this month was Industrial Design. While nothing can beat the variety and beauty of nature, where patterns and designs have their own rhythm and pace, certain objects have a beauty and grace that speak to an aesthetic that is inherently human. Products of handmade origin or the Industrial Age that satisfy the need for function while maintaining a beauty of form are sometimes taken for granted, and sometimes, with a photographer’s keen eye, transformed into sculptural objects that seem to transcend their utility. We can contemplate them less for something we would use as a tool and more as objects of wonder or beauty that appeal to a deeper aesthetic sensibility. That’s what we sought, and found, in this month’s readers’ images.

POV—point of view—is what this month’s Picture This! was all about. We asked readers to send in photos made from sometimes dizzying heights to show us all how where you stand and the lens you use can make for some great photo ops. Readers responded with some very exciting images of architecture, nature, and even people made from above. The results might just inspire you to take camera in hand and gain vantage points that make us all see the world in a brand new way.

The world is rich in symbols, some more apparent than others, but if you put yourself in a “graphics” frame of mind, as we asked readers to do for this month’s assignment, you’ll find more than your share of images to capture in the world around you. The nature of this assignment was to find abstractions, to use context merely as a frame and not a reference, and to find the image within the image where a graphic presented itself. In many cases the frame becomes a canvas and the image something that abstract expressionists would understand. While we did receive some composites for this assignment we favored images made “in the field” that used cropping and a “graphic eye” to make the shot.

This month’s Picture This! assignment was Painterly Backgrounds, the use of various photographic devices—namely depth of field—to create a field of color and design for a backdrop to the main theme. The technique not only removes what could be a distracting background but also brings the main subject more into the visual attention of the viewer. It also can be used to complement the color, shape, and design of the entire frame, adding to the emotional content of the image. Readers sometimes used their digital darkroom skills to enhance some of the effects (noted in captions), but, as with other assignments, we view image processing as something that can be used to emphasize the image from the camera, not obtain it entirely from software techniques.

Our Picture This! assignment was “Reflections” and we received many excellent images that took the assignment to the next level. Readers responded with reflections from many possible surfaces, including ponds, glass buildings, metallic objects, and more. The idea was to make the reflection part of an overall composition, to have it further reinforce the design, color, and forms of...