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More than the people

Sorry for taking Monday off of the blogging. I needed a mental break.

Here are a few shots that show that there is usually more to look at than just the person when you're shooting.

Enjoy.

Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Sons of the American Revolution members Richard Arnold (Dallas), William Walker (McKinney) and Howard Roach (Plano)(l-r) sit at the back of the United States District Court with the United States flag beside them before the start of a naturalization ceremony for 17 new citizens from seven different countries.

This was one of those shots that came by just paying attention to what was going on around you.

These guys, dressed in their Revolutionary War duds were hanging out in the back of the Federal Courtroom in Wichita Falls before the start of the naturalization ceremony. I simply walked across the front of the room to line them up with the flag. I could have zoomed in to just capture these three men, but the shot really worked better with the flag in it.

It was one of those Eureka moments when I put the camera up and saw the framing worked just perfectly. A lot of people don't like the "dead space" above their heads... but I think that is what makes it such an interesting shot to look at.

Jason Palmer/Times Record News
A few rays of sunlight fall on Brianna Bell and her brother Ceanu Flores, 3, as they sit on a rock overlooking the Falls Monday afternoon.

Again... it is the negative space in this shot that really makes it appeal to me. The entire top layer of the falls was in shadow except for a little sliver of sunlight that came and lit the two people up on the rock.

I didn't have my tripod with me or I would have tried to slow the shutter far enough down to get a bit of blur in the water, but either way, the effect of the shot made the point. These people were very small compared to the waterfall behind them.

Jason Palmer/Times Record News
Couples practice the tango under the dome in the ballroom at the Kemp Center for the Arts during a dancing class hosted by former competitive dancer H.-P. Schuele and his wife Kristin.

This is one of my top five shots from the entire year. I have loved this shot from the moment I thought about trying to capture it.

This is at the Kemp Center during a dance class... and I had to play patiently to wait until two couples flanked H.P. in the middle to nail the symmetry of the shot.

I was literally with my ear to the ground to get the extreme angle of looking up at the top of the rotunda in the ballroom. Just another prime example of why I don't wear a suit and tie to work. I was on my knees and nearly flat to the ground. That's not easy to do in slacks.

Hopefully, you'll see this photo in the paper when we do the Best Of photo pages at the beginning of January.

Posted by Jason Palmer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)