Texture in Photography

The origin of the word "texture" comes from Old and Middle English and means interwoven or interweaving. Texture, in photography, lends an image excitement and contrast. It invokes the tactile quality of the world and helps engage our body and senses.

The challenge is that photography is two-dimensional and so when observing the world within a frame we must look for those objects that provoke our interest and ideally showcase more than one texture.

We may walk in nature and select a scene with different foliage, needles and leaves, smooth bark and rough bark, knobby or slashed. Water may be ruffled by the wind to the right and smooth like glass to the left. Reflections on water may be rough in one spot and smooth in another. The opportunities are endless if we keep our eye open to all possibilities.

Add texture to portraits through background, clothing, light. Imagine a baby’s smooth skin against a woolen blanket. An intermingling of smooth, soft, hard, rough, creamy, becomes a delight to the eye, mind and heart of the photographe, and provides a joyous meeting place for all who look at it.

captured in the smooth glass of a lake

pebbly mountains jut into blue azure sky

and rough boulders mark passage for the eye

Expanding the subjects we photograph.

We have so many preconceptions of what we should photograph.  It must be beautiful.  It must fit our image of nature or people.  However, we can think beyond our usual models of what to photograph and be open to everyting we come across.  If it attracts our eye shoot it!  The two photographs here were taken one day on a trip to an antique shop.  It was great fun really opening my eyes and seeing  objects which I've really seen before.   You may wish to do the same.

Still Walking With My Cat

It's been awhile since I've posted here. Sometimes life takes over and there's so much to do.

We are still doing the Walking With My Cat exercise.  I haven't heard back from anyone on whether you've tried it or not but it's fun to begin to think about seeing the world from a different perspective - our small pet - and how it would look.

We usually see life from a very narrow strip depending on how tall we are.

The photo in this blog was taken from my window sill which is a favorite spot for my crazy cat Metta.  She will sit there for hours looking out and watching the birds.  It's a view through a curtain onto a red side shed in my yard.  I enjoy the texture the curtains provide and the "pop" the red adds.

So spend the next week playing with this and post some photos online or send a few to me and I will post them to this blog.  I'd love to see how you view the world from a different perspective.