By bmdalbisOn

In my very late journey to become a better photographer (please don’t come after me), I chose three photos from my phone and analyzed how many of David duChemin’s points they hit. These pictures were taken on my iPhone about two models ago, so camera quality is what it is.

Spoiler alert: They are all from Iceland

Picture One: Black Sand Beach, Mýrdalshreppur, Iceland

  • Selection: I have at least five different versions of all the photos I have taken abroad to choose the best one to keep. In terms of selection, at least I choose one specific shot to take multiple pictures of.
  • Contrast: There is some contrast between the gray ocean and the sky against the dark rock formations. Given that it was April in Iceland and I was on the Black Beach, there were not a lot of colors available.
  • Perspective: Normal perspective- I zoomed in a little.
  • Depth: Not a lot of depth.
  • Balance: This is one of my favorite photos from all my travels because it is pleasing to my mild OCD eyes. The balance between the large rock formation and the small one is perfect.
  • Moment: The only movement is from the waves in the bottom left corner. I focused more on the rocks than the waves, so there was little action.
  • Lighting: Once again, it was Iceland on a beach known for its black sand and rock formations in April. We were fortunate that it was not actively snowing/raining when we were at the beach. Iceland is not known for having a lot of Sun.
  • Foreground/background: The waves in the bottom left corner give some idea of how big the rock formations are. I also believe that the beauty of this photo comes from the sheer lack of objects in it. Anything else would have taken away from the formations and their contrast against the ocean and the sky.

Overall: It is one of my favorite photos of all time.

Photo Two: A Piece of the Berlin Wall, Reykjavik, Iceland

  • Selection: Same with the last photo. I took about five pictures and chose the best one.
  • Contrast: A lot of difference between the brightly painted wall and the gray landscape behind it.
  • Perspective: Normal perspective. I stood as close as possible to get the entire wall in the shot.
  • Depth: You can see a lot of depth between where the wall is compared to the building on the right and the water in the back.
  • Balance: I think the photo would have been more balanced if the building wasn’t in the shot on the right. But the way the wall was positioned, that would have been impossible. So I got the wall almost precisely in the center, which is impressive on my part.
  • Moment: There is no movement in the photo.
  • Lighting: Once again, not a lot of natural lighting in Iceland. You can see a little bit of light peeking out under the clouds. I think the bright paint does a lot to brighten the photo.
  • Foreground/background: Some size contrast between the wall itself and the water in the far back.

Overall: I was so excited to get that close to a piece of the Berlin Wall. I couldn’t even get this close to the Newseum in D.C. A little pop of color brightens many people’s day in Iceland, especially when the sky won’t welcome the Sun.

Picture Three: Seljalandsfoss Waterfall Rangárþing eystra, Iceland

  • Selection: I did not take this photo of myself. I did many poses, though; this one was everyone’s favorite.
  • Contrast: There is a noticeable contrast between myself and the waterfall, partly focusing the camera on the waterfall behind me. It is an excellent example of taking a picture of someone’s silhouette in front of an object.
  • Perspective: Many people take pictures in front of waterfalls, but how many people can take pictures behind one? This was my favorite trip moment, even though my clothes were soaked afterward.
  • Depth: I am not sure if this photo has a lot of depth.
  • Balance: I am right in the middle of the shot, and so is most of the waterfall, hard to control the flow of nature.
  • Moment: You know that function on the iPhone where if you hold down on a photo, it shows the few seconds of that photo moving? Yeah, there is a lot of movement in this photo.
  • Lighting: One of the few times we saw the Sun in Iceland. It is why I was able to appear as a silhouette. It also highlights the steam and the flows of the waterfall.
  • Foreground/background: I am standing in front of a waterfall; successful foreground achieved.

Overall: My parents love showing this to all their friends; it is also a picture I showcase on my websites.