A Short Film About Long Things by Whiskey Monday
I like A Short Film About Long Things by Whiskey Monday. It defies gravity and our expectations. I also think it sold more HPMD grass than all their marketing combined. It’s a play on perspective challenging our expectations which is what art should do. Ernst Gombrich said, “Art is an institution to which we turn when we want to feel a shock of surprise. We feel this want because we sense that it is good for us once in a while to receive a healthy jolt. Otherwise we would so easily get stuck in a rut and could no longer adapt to the new demands that life is apt to make on us. The biological function of art, in other words, is that of a rehearsal, a training in mental gymnastics which increases our tolerance of the unexpected.”
Well, that’s what Whiskey is doing, increasing our tolerance of the unexpected. In terms of composition, you can see the light pole follows the Rule of Fifths, the line from Whiskey to the bird and the edge of the grass follows the Rule of Thirds, and the subject follows the Golden Ratio.
When I Was Six Years Old by Chel Glitter.
I like When I Was Six Years Old by Chel Glitter. Here is a delightful story-telling photo from Chel Glitter. I enjoy her photostream for all the stories she gives us in story. This one just made me grin…but you should click through for the whole story.
Some of you may remember my former column, What I Like, at Shopping Cart Disco. I have decided to revive that effort, though with a few differences. At the end of the column, I will add a gallery of 50 photos that caught my eye as well and that I considered including because it’s impossible to highlight every worthy picture.
Her hand is forward, projecting in front of her face. It captures our attention because it lies one-third of the way across the picture, following the Rule of Thirds. You can see that her face is not directly centered in the middle of the shot. Except in rare circumstances, positioning the subject right in the center makes for a static picture. That small shift off center creates a more dynamic picture full of life and movement. You can see her hair, he kimono and the flashes of fire and sparks all radiate away from the center – another way to make the picture more dynamic. Notice as well, her sword is held at a slight angle – just one more way to create a feeling of urgency and drama. I like it. 
