I really enjoy putting together these Same Place — Different View blogs. It always confirms what Arnie and I teach … seek your own vision. Just because the scene may be the same doesn’t mean that each person doesn’t approach it differently.
In southern Belize, it was yet another case in point.
We love visiting Eladio at his organic cacao farm. These cacao fruits are amazing and so unlike the chocolate that is made from the beans.
In this comparison, Patrick got down low with a wide-angle lens and shot across the fruits.
While Carmelina, also photographing a diagonal scene, stood up and looked down on the cacao fruits.
Armando, who hosted us for a delicious lunch one day, later took us to meet some of the rest of his family, including his lovely mother.
John used the dramatic lighting of the dimly lit house to make this dynamic portrait.
Joanie went outside the house for a completely different view and shot from behind.
On the way to one of our locations, we stopped along the road to photograph the early-morning mists hanging in the Maya Mountains.
J homed in on a section of the mountains and celebrated a tree with magenta blossoms.
Patrick photographed the same part of the mountains but did a wider view for a different effect.
The Maya people are very clean and are always doing wash and bathing in the river.
In this scene, John used the bright color of the woman’s dress to set off the classic scene.
Joanie walked a few feet beyond and photographed the friend enjoying the cool of the river.
One day, we were heading into the jungle to visit a really magnificent cave. Alas, the heavens let go and made it much too slippery and dangerous to access the cave. Instead, we continued to photograph in the jungle, the rain saturating the colors.
Carmelina found this pattern of fronds, then simplified it to keep it from being too busy.
Nearby, J worked in refining another pattern, also simplifying it for a stronger effect.
We were treated to a traditional Mopan dance at a high school in the mountains where students are taught the traditional Maya ways as well as more modern skills such as computers, radio, and good, sustainable practices, both in energy and farming. The background was busy, so Arnie and I encouraged our participants to shoot motion and avoid distracting elements.
John did a lot of variations and settled on this one where the motion in the skirt pleased him.
Carmelina also avoided the busy background and caught the girl’s movement as she started to spin around.
For our last comparison, we were again in the jungle. Tall trees with huge, fantastical roots beckoned.
Patrick used the long, vertical lines of the tree trunk to lead the eye down to the roots.
Walking around the tree, J found a different view of the roots that begged to be in a horizontal shot.
So, as some of you have heard us say, don’t settle for the first view you see. Walk around your subject. Test vertical and horizontal views … even diagonal ones, if that works. Try different lenses, and don’t forget to look behind you. One can get so engrossed in a scene that one can easily miss something even better in the other direction.
To see more photographs from these students, check out their gallery page.
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