Sometimes there is just too much in the scene to include it all. You have heard me say that painters start with nothing and add (paint in) elements to their canvas to make art whereas photographers start with too many elements, so we eliminate and isolate elements to make our art. The Quiver Tree Forest in Namibia is a good example of this problem. These trees are on a hill, they are everywhere. To make art we have to eliminate some of them. We have to isolate something in order to have a central point of interest; something specific to draw the eye and to arrest the viewer's attention.

          You have also heard me say that we need to look for that which is different, that which stands out and focus on that. In this scene, I opted not to make the Quiver trees my central point of interest. Rather, I focused on this plant:

It is clear what the central point of interest is. To make it clear these plants are prominently placed. I have created a sun star to draw the eye there. This is where the action is. Yet, you can also see the environment around the plant. The rocks and other trees build the scene. Now there is a second reason why I came to this particular spot to photograph instead of shooting closer to the Quiver trees; people. I was getting people walking into my image. I had to separate myself from the crowd in order to get a clear shot.

          Isolating a clear center point of interest often defines a good image. Isolating ourselves from others often makes that possible. The exception is when you want to include people in the image. In my case, I don't often do that even though that makes great images (without model releases I cannot use these images). Another good reason to isolate yourself from the crowd is to get different images from what everybody else has.

          The next time you get to a place where there are lots of people isolate yourself; get away. It may just yield images others don't have. Always remember to also isolate something in the image to make it stand out. People should not wonder what to look at when they see our images. Something specific should draw the eye.

P.S. I did other opportunities to shoot the Quiver trees and will talk about them in the next few weeks.