So, Scott gave us a new Challenge. Run on over there to check out the details! Since he gave us a lot of leeway and didn’t require new photos, I figure I have no excuse for not participating. I will work on getting some new photos, but for now I decided to go back through my photo stream to pick some ready made examples of the Rule of Thirds.
When I first became tuned in to this rule for photographers, I began noticing its use everywhere…every cinematically brilliant piece I saw, I got distracted noticing the rule put to use on the big screen…for example, this:

Or this:

Or even this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwmYs-lQeD4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

All of them beautiful, and I’m sure that attention to this rule at the right moments helps make them so.

I can’t say that I attend to this rule thoughtfully, but I do think I tend to apply it naturally. I don’t use the grid lines….in fact, I don’t even know how to turn them on (she says somewhat shamefully) but I suppose I must “see” them in my mind’s eye as I shoot…maybe??? Or maybe not? In truth, I don’t consider rules with my head when I shoot…I just shoot. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes it’s not, but I think we can over think these things sometimes.

But let’s have a look, shall we?
First, an older favorite taken in Saratoga Springs, NY. Although the subject is centered, the horizontal planes follow “the rule” so I think it works as an example, don’t you?

An early morning sunrise in Ocean City, NJ:

A shot from the Adirondack Balloon Festival, taken two years ago:

This is Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine in Orlando, Florida. This one is debatable I think. Some would say no, it doesn’t work as an example because the focus is up the center aisle, but I still see thirds, again working horizontally. What do all you experts out there say about this one?

And two favorites from Ocean City, NJ taken this past summer.

None of these shots were cropped, so I will go and do that next. Maybe I’ll pull a Karma and offer up more than one challenge post! 😉 In any case, you have plenty of time to jump in and participate! Stay tuned for my official entry.