Mini Challenge #377: Centered

sapphire73

Let's share images that lean into a central composition. Do you have some photos that you like that don't follow the rule of thirds? For example, it could be:

a landscape with a central focal point
a symmetrical composition
a flower that fills the frame
a portrait (human or animal) where the focal point is higher or lower than you might normally choose
the horizon can be wherever you think it works best in a landscape, etc.

Hoping this is broad enough to encourage some experimentation and lots of entries! A similar challenge was posted four years ago, and I think it was an interesting exercise.

This challenge will end 3 weeks from today on Nov. 22nd at 8 pm (EST). For those who want a refresher on the rules, you can find them here.

Here are a few examples:

Island seen on the way to Alaska

Torii Gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha, a Shinto Shrine (Kyoto, Japan)

Lion in Kruger National Park (Republic of South Africa)

Ceiling Detail in Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere (Lyon, France)

Our Resident Screech Owl (Pennsylvania, USA)

slpollett

1. Plant -- I wish I knew what kind of plant this is. It belonged to my mother-in-law and I thought it was cool.
   

2. Another flower --
   

3. Gaillardia (Mexican Blanket)
   

When I got my first dSLR, it had 3 focus points--left, right, and center. I always left it on center initially because I was still learning how to change all the settings. I took a ton of flower pictures back then. I'm still looking for anything more recent. If I find it, I will swap out.

Sherry P.

sapphire73

Sherry, thank you for getting us off to a good start! They are good examples of how effective it can be to fill the frame like this.

grandmaR

This is hard for me because I see thirds everywhere even when they may not be there. Buildings if they are symetrical - one third on each side of the door. Faces - thirds 10 hair 2 eyes 3 mouth. Any kind of obelist - one third on each side of it. And some flowers the center is one third and the petals on each side are another third. . But I think Sherry the first flower is really a sucullant. :Like what I call Hen and chickens - this is one (not for judging)

I have better luck with round things, and I have some photos of manhole covers which would work I think, but I can't find them right now. So here are a couple of possibilities
1- Sculpture made of a VW

2- Smocking - I used to make a lot of the clothes for my kids and this is the detail of one of them.

3- Creme brulee

sapphire73

@grandmaR said:
This is hard for me because I see thirds everywhere even when they may not be there. Buildings if they are symetrical - one third on each side of the door. Faces - thirds 10 hair 2 eyes 3 mouth. Any kind of obelist - one third on each side of it. And some flowers the center is one third and the petals on each side are another third.

Thanks for your entries! I tend to see every image with the rule of thirds embedded in it. Definitely get that this can be hard!

npdemers

This is a fun idea! I'll start off with a shot of Mont Saint-Michel. It's a tidal island on the coast of Normandy, France, with a small town overlooked by an abbey and church -- dedicated to the Archangel Michael, of course. We visited in May of 2022.

EDIT: okay, I guess I'm on an architecture kick so here are my other photos:

Ceiling of St-Charles-Borromeo Church in Vienna, a wildly, flamboyantly Baroque affair dating to the early 1700's. I think it's supposed to represent the Last Judgment? We visited in May 2023.

Cupola over Vienna's Art History Museum's central hall, first floor. You can just see the grand dome over the 2nd (and 3rd, and 4th) floors through the opening.

Fun facts: The Art History Museum and Science History Museum were designed and built together, facing each other across a wide plaza just outside what was then the inner city limits at the end of the 1800's. Their purpose: to be custom-made homes for the Habsburg emperors' tremendous art collection and the Austro-Hungarian Empire's equally tremendous collection of natural specimens of all kinds, and to make all of it accessible to the public. The architecture in both is absolutely exquisite, providing just the right amount of glitz and glamour without distracting from the magnificent collections.

Also, The Science History Museum is where you can see the famous "Venus of Willendorf", the ~30,000 years old human figurine. She was discovered in 1908 in Willendorf, a small village in the province of Lower Austria, not too far from Vienna.

PS: not part of the contest, but just so you can see what I mean by "wildly, flamboyantly Baroque", here's St-Charles-Borromeo's altar. The place is... a lot

sapphire73

@npdemers said:
This is a fun idea! I'll start off with a shot of Mont Saint-Michel. It's a tidal island on the coast of Normandy, France, with a small town overlooked by an abbey and church -- dedicated to the Archangel Michael, of course. We visited in May of 2022.

Fun to see this! I've had a glimpse of Saint Michael's Mount in Penzance in the UK but haven't seen Mont Saint-Michel yet. Thanks!

jwear

I am falling please help me get UP

sapphire73

@jwear - Fun capture for those of us experiencing autumn just now! Thanks.

Cavalier

Nicolas is right - this is a fun idea. I have many that are centered mainly due to me being too lazy to think about the rule of thirds as I'm busy clicking as many shots as I can possibly get!

1) My Praying Mantis pal who stayed in the Day Lillies for 10 days posing for me until it was time for her to leave and lay her eggs. This probably wouldn't have worked for the rule anyway!

2) Wildlife Refuges excite me, so when I see a beautiful hawk posing for me - rules slip my mind.

3) Changed this entry after realizing that you didn't want bad examples of centered shots! This was taken during a trip through Colorado. Full disclosure - the lightening was added post editing. (couldn't resist adding an interesting feature to the shot)

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sapphire73

@Cavalier - Jo, thanks for sharing these entries! Fun to see the variety of images that people are posting!

sapphire73

If you are thinking of entering this mini-challenge, it is open until this Friday evening. It would be great to see some more photos to make my task of judging this mini even more difficult!

bfluegie

Interesting idea. I mostly use the rule of thirds, but I did find more than a few that I had taken that worked with a centered subject.
1) Resting along the trail, Ricketts Glen State Park

2) Young Buck, Shenandoah National Park

3) Little Red Houses, Flåm, Norway

GSPeP

1. Spa, Belgian Ardennes

2. My first digital picture

3. Pedestrian tunnel in Antwerp

sapphire73

@bfluegie and @GSPeP - thank you both for contributing your fine entries! This mini-challenge is now closed, and I will try to have the results posted Saturday or Sunday. It is not going to be an easy task!

sapphire73

I will try to post the results later tonight but might not be able to do so until late tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for your patience!