We all know something about covering or curtailing or blurring the background to give more juice to or accentuate the focus of the theme in an image. But we could do more or less the same to the foreground, which, apart from bestowing the image with extra information to make the story richer and more “chewy”, can as well be used to frame the primary subject. The tip is to be choosey on what elements to use for the foreground. It will work best if the elements are related to the primary image in a way that they echo with the latter in substance. Today’s shot can hopefully be taken as an example. The foreground give the viewers sufficient and, to me, interesting information to make sense of what the chef was chopping even though what is on the chopping board (or log actually?) is hidden behind the metal utensil. I think the cooked whole chicken hanging in the foreground make a unique frame which works to move the viewers’ eyes to explore the image longer from corner to corner. At least, with such a foreground, the image is not bland as in the case without it.
(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the
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