The Art of Composition Part Eleven

​In the last installment of the Art of Composition, I introduced some of the concepts around low angle views. While discussing angle of view might not be the sexiest stuff when it comes to composition and wildlife photography, it’s one of the most important parts of all this right out of the gate because of its impact on how our subjects are perceived.

Perception plays such a big role in the success or failure of our photography. And if we aren’t thinking about this stuff when behind the camera, then it’s likely we are just taking snap shots.

I know I have said this a thousand times before, but I’m going to say it again because it is so important if you want to progress as a photographer. Wildlife photography is visual art. And art is inextricable from psychology. There is a reason why some photographs and paintings are so arresting. There is a reason that these things sometimes make us feel so much when we look at them.

And that’s the point of all this: feeling.

How are we making the viewer feel about the subject; how are we making them feel about the photograph?

Because this can part of discussing wildlife photography be a bit more challenging for some folks to “buy into,” before moving forward, I want to take a planned detour here to explore this concept of feeling a little further. While much ink could, and probably should, be spilt on this topic in general, I want to discuss something completely ancillary to all of this as an example of how visual art has real and lasting impact on all of us.

Follow me down the rabbit hole for a moment. . .

As wildlife photographers, you and I already understand the calming and healing powers of nature on a fundamental level. Chances are, at the heart of what drives us to dedicate so much of ourselves and our wallets to this thing we love isn’t all about photographs. Or, as the barred of Walden Pond once said, “Many men go fishing all their lives without realizing it is not fish they are after.”

Understand the physiological and psychological impact that nature has on us is one of the big new frontiers in both science and psychology. From the biochemical domino effect that happens when we breath in the smell of a forest (read: pinenes) to the measurable effect on cortisol levels (stress hormones) after spending just a single hour in nature, to understanding why the two most expensive words in real estate are “ocean view,” researchers are now saying that we have only begun to glimpse the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understand the profoundly important role “nature” plays on every aspect of our lives.

We have collectively created a society that is overworked, over “tech’ed,” underslept, and exists in a state of mind that some psychologists have come to refer to as “red brained.” That is to say, hypervigilant, constantly bathed in stress hormones, and always one life sized hiccup away from a break down.

But what does this have to do with photography and visual art?

Enter: Fractal Patterns.

Fractals are repeating patterns found in nature. They are not always exact, but they are similar.

Take a tree, for instance. Picture in your mind the infinitely extensive network of tiny roots that come together into larger roots that come together as the trunk of the tree that thrusts upwards and then repeats itself all in reverse – only this time in the form of the branches.

Still with me?

Now, ff you break out a microscope and look at the “veins” of that tree’s leaves, you will see this exact same pattern again.

That is a fractal.

Let’s go further.

A tree also grows from roots to leaves to look very much like a river of water all coming together across its headwaters and then branching out again across a delta when it reaches the ocean. And all of that looks very much like your circulatory system. And all of that looks very much like the ridges and valleys of a mountain range when viewed from above.

Fractal Patterns.

You see, physics is the codec of laws governing all things in the universe. Be it mountains or mongooses, we are all shaped by the very same forces and must work within the very same physical parameters. And thus, we find patterns in nature – over and over and over again.

That’s the basic stuff. Some of these patterns are familiar to us on a conscious level. Most are not. But just because we are not always consciously aware, does not mean they are not all around us in nature.

And it’s these fractal patterns that scientists and psychologists are finding have a profound impact upon our psychology.

Consider this from Psychology Today about fractal patterns:

“The results of many studies show that exposure to fractal patterns in nature reduce people’s levels of stress up to 60%. It seems this stress reduction effect occurs because of a certain physiological resonance within the eye.”

More important to the conversation at hand, however, the same discussion goes on to state that, “Bringing nature and those repetitive patterns indoors can have a calming effect on patients.”

Are you paying attention now?

Be honest. Did you ever think that your artwork could save the world?

That it could potentially curtail a stress induced cardiac arrest?

An anxiety attack?

Did you know your photography could be the salve that helps to soothe the mental health of others around you?

I didn’t start to learn about this stuff until I began analyzing the sales of my photographs. As someone in the business of selling my interpretations of the art of nature, trying to understand what sells and why is basic stuff.

One small fact you may not know about me is that I love drone photography. Wildlife photography is my heart and soul, of course. But ever since the first time I was paid to fly around in a little Cessna airplane photographing on assignment for a magazine, I have been completely obsessed with the beautiful patterns of the Earth from above.

In the realm of interior design, I found that my drone photography sold equally as well as my wildlife photography. Wildlife photography is my business. Drone photography was something I did just because it was fun and I could stare at these photos for hours on end. But the abstract patterns of these Earthscapes that I found so hypnotic were being installed in everything from corporate lobbies to hospitals to vacation cottages.

This is when I began to research why these photographs were so captivating to me. And this is when I began to learn about the psychological impact of fractal patterns.

Have you ever stood before a massive Jackson Pollock painting and found yourself captivated? On a rational level, it’s nearly impossible to explain what is alluring about splatters of paint. And yet, there you stand hypnotized by it all.

Computer analysis has proven that Pollock was using the exact same types of repeating fractal patterns that can be found in nature. The same patterns that I first became aware of from the cockpit of a Cessna, 800 feet above the Earth. And the same patterns that psychologists can now measure as being able to reduce stress by up to 60% in patients.

But this isn’t just aerial photos.

These same patterns can be found in the structure of feathers, the swirls of fur on a brown bear, and the iris of an eye.

When we bring photographs of the natural world into our homes and places of business, we introduce these patterns of nature as well.

Don’t ever let yourself think that what you are doing is a waste of time.

We need your photography in our lives now more than ever.

You have no idea how many people your artwork may have saved.

And this is why it’s so important for us to consider the impact that our photograph has on our viewers. If the patterns of a leaf or a feather can soothe the mind, what does the arrangement of elements in our compositions do? When we find ourselves unable to stop staring at one our own photographs, what does this mean? What combination of elements came together to unlock the secrets of our mind within that photograph?

To be continued. . .