Capture the Magic

Negative Space

There’s a time when the subject matter shifts from what you have originally planned. This occurs when the negative space, or the background space, or a vacant shadow area forms an interesting design element in itself. I can recall photographing hoodoo rock formations in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. I was carefully crafting an image that featured two giant boulders, with a narrow sliver of daylight in between. As I was photographing the boulders, I soon recognized that my subject was no longer the rock formations, but had become the sky in the triangular space between the massive black shapes. I wanted to further emphasize the triangular section of sky and the solution came with patience and ...