Digital Photography Composition of the Week

Jumbo Jet and Fountain

In an airport, good photography
composition may take many tries and much luck

INDEX - PREVIOUS COM POSITION - NEXT COMPOSITION

Digital Photography Composition #6 - 6 May 2009 Minolta Dimage 7Hi, 18-200mm @ 33mm, ISO 100, 1/350s, f/8. Imperfect bilateral symmetry.

INDEX - PREVIOUS COMPOSITION - NEXT COMPOSITION

I frequently travel through the Detroit Metro Airport McNamara Terminal. More often than not, when I escape from the security screening and walk into the main concourse, a jumbo jet will be staring right at me across a fountain.

The jet is just begging to be photographed.

Practically speaking, though, this is not so easy. While I usually have a camera with me, several stars have to align to get a good image.\:

• I have to arrive at the airport, coming or going, with enough time to take the picture.
  
  
• The right jet has to be parked in the right spot.
  
  
• The weather has to provide the right quality of light.
  
  
• The time of day has to provide the right directionality and quality of light.

Over two years and dozens of trips, it took three or four brief photo sessions to get a passable shot. Below, I describe a few alternative attempts.

Photo Critique

Initially, I was just trying to get a feel for a final composition. The outside lighting was dull, and the jet was not jumbo-sized, but I was able to learn how to approach a good photography composition. The water exposed well and the people in silhouette added character to the image.

The next attempt gets closer, but still leaves much to be desired. The light is of better quality, but its direction puts a shadow on the (now jumbo) jet's nose. It also leaves little contrast between the jet and sky. As for composition, the jet fills too much of the image and feels crowded against the window frame.

An alternative approach to the final shot achieves better bilateral symmetry, with the jet's tail aligned at center. The trade off is that the jet is not centered in the window frame. The wispy lines in the image are from partial streams of water from the fountain. If I'd had more time, it would have been fun to see what patterns would emerge from these pulsing water streams.

Ultimately, I chose the featured composition because the silhouetted figures emphasize scale and the curved lines of the full streams of water complement the curves of the jet.