Happy Sunday! This week, for Lens-Artists Challenge #401, Patti is looking back at Lens-Artists Challenge #121, which focuses on the composition of the photo. I must admit I struggled a little bit with this one but I tried my best and hope you’ll enjoy.

When I was taking a class in photo composition, one of the first things the instructor said was, “Find a subject to focus on.”

That’s what I did with this photo, except in post-editing. This photo was originally taken in the landscape orientation with the flag billowing in the wind and a ferry boat in the distance. In post-editing, I decided to do a 4-by-3 crop to take out the boat and put the flag in the left two-thirds of the image. That way, the flag can be the main subject the viewer sees.

This was taken during my trip to Seattle in May. My mom and I decided we would take some kind of cruise before we wrapped up this portion of our trip. After some searching online, I found a harbor cruise where the boat sails along the harbors of Seattle. It was so fascinating to see all the harbors and the view of the city from the water.

Another thing the instructor mentioned was about where to place the subject. For example, if the subject is moving toward the left, don’t put the subject on the left, put the subject on the right. Like in this image, which I took with my phone and later cropped. The bird was walking to the left, so I put him on the right side of the shot, to prevent the viewer feeling claustrophobia.

Finally, why not get up and personal? At least, as close as my phone can focus. These days, I use my phone for a majority of my photographs. I find the wide angle shots allow me more room to play in post-editing. I also don’t like to carry my camera into the garden because, well, anything can happen.

I remember taking this photo last year. That ladybug was a trooper for putting up with me as I tried to focus.