When going through my recent favorites to choose pictures for this column, I was drawn most to those pictures who gave us slice of life moments, the story-telling pictures that seem so spontaneous despite the amount of scene design and pose setting and all the work that must go into them. All that work is invisible if the picture is done well and it seems as though someone just accidentally caught them at that very moment. I love those pictures though I never do them myself. I admire the creativity and imagination that goes into planning and execution. They often make me smile, sometimes even I even laugh out loud at the predicaments and mishaps they capture. There are far too many great pictures to highlight, so please check out the Gallery that accompanies this column to see some of the other great works that I did not include in this post.

“Nooooooooo!” by Leonorah Beverly

Leonorah Beverly gives us action and a wonderful use of perspective with that snowball heading right for us or for the camera. Notice how the snowball is placed at the sweet spot of the Golden Ratio. I love this picture for its story-telling and its fabulous attention to details of composition. I have to say, that snowball looks like it could hurt. Duck!

TDF by Hironey Fairey

Hironey Fairey has a complex picture that seems so spontaneous and simple. With the bit of blur, you get the sense that the camera was grabbed and the pic snapped on the fly. But look at the composition, we have the leading lines of the plane, windsock and the angle of the biker – leading us forward. We also can see the golden ratio focusing our attention on the biker. This short moment that catches the bike seeming to outrace a plane is clever and fun and very well-executed.

By the Fireplace by Apollo Scribe

Apollo Scribe shot this beautiful and contemplative picture capturing a moment of quiet fireside reverie, she’s looking at old photos, enjoying the warmth with the cat and also enjoying a little snack. The artist plays with threes in this picture, three objects, the cat, the basket, the group of photos and they form a triangle. So do her arms. In fact, I see nine triangles just glancing at this picture and wonder how many I would see if I worked at it. All of this works to draw us in and of course, enjoy the wonderful mood created by the picture.

blue by Nase Nagy

Nase Nagy’s picture is so sweetly innocent – a naif enjoying the view, her blue dress almost the blue of the sky. It seems like a real life photo and if her feet were not hovering just the tiniest bit, I don’t know if I could tell if it was a first or Second Life® photo. You might think she’s ignoring the rule of thirds, but you can see that her picture if very clearly divided into horizontal thirds. She also does not place the subject perfectly in the middle, but just slightly off center. That makes it seem less static. If she had a ramrod straight pose and were trying to shoot an “I see you and you are in my power” sort of picture, she might want to be exactly on center, but otherwise. even the tiniest bit off center (as she did here) makes for a better picture.

Controlled by the shadow by 나나

나나 cracked me up with this incredibly clever and adorable picture. I am in love. And the detail! look at the bit of sweater she tweaked into a pinched bit. As you can see, she paid attention to her composition in terms of the golden ratio. The rule of thirds is a quick and dirty short cut to get us close to the golden ratio – so the same principle is at work.