Hoo-do You Call for a Good Photograph?

A hoodoo is a tall, slender rock spire formed by erosion. A harder, less easily eroded stone caps an underlying column of softer rock, protecting the column from erosion. Mineral deposits in the different layers can produce variations in color throughout the structure.

Those characteristics make them ideal photographic subjects. And this hoodoo that I spotted in Utah last week was no exception. The trick was to find a composition that worked.

The Shot

Unlike the Midwest, desert formations are often hemmed in by inaccessible terrain. I wanted to move farther clockwise around the hoodoo, but a steep slope kept me from going farther.

Only a bit of the attractive sunset clouds was included in my view. But then I noticed that the crescent moon was now visible.

Composition is the challenge of arranging the elements of a landscape pleasingly while ensuring that the eye moves through the scene. Oftentimes, the elements can’t be arranged properly, or the eye gets stuck and is unable to move through an image.

Artists use the term “visual weight” to describe how a scenic element attracts the eye. Size, color, contrast, placement, detail, and texture all contribute to making an element “weighty.”

Each weighty element (for example, a stream, a waterfall, and a mountain) must be placed to guide the eye to the next weighty element. This ensures that the viewer can flow through the image instead of getting “stuck” somewhere or being led out of the image.

While size, color, contrast, placement, detail, and texture create visual weight, professional photographer Gary Hart added emotion to that list.

Faces carry substantial emotional visual weight. And eye contact multiplies the effect. Looking at the camera creates an immediate, powerful connection.

Gary also taught me that while small and sometimes insignificant, the moon carries emotional visual weight. I learned that including the moon can enhance the ordinary or create the final addition in an extraordinary image. Thanks, Gary.

In this case, I believe the crescent moon enhanced the ordinary, leading to an image that I enjoy.

Thanks for looking,

Chuck Derus Zenfolio | Chuck Derus