All you need is a chair and a view.

The Bow valley from Mount Norquay.
The Adirondack chair is the quintessential representation of relaxation in the midst of an amazing vista.  Found throughout cottage country and on many a patio in urban areas, they are a welcome paragon of rest for the weary traveler.  Developed in 1903 by Thomas Lee, its unique design is instantly recognizable.  It is also fairly easy to build; a modest collection of carpentry tools and skills plus a couple of hours of your time will allow you to render one it all its glory (plans here).

Although I like the chair in the above photo, really it is the spectacle laid out before it which makes the shot.  The two though go hand in hand, as the view would be missing something if the chair was absent.  This has to do with using both foreground and background elements in a setting to produce a pleasing image.  A strong background with a weak foreground tends to undermine what would otherwise be a great shot.  The chair does a couple of things; first off it provides that foreground I mentioned and then there is the symbolism it evokes.

There are a few other things going on in the image which makes it, to me anyway, appealing.  The chair is surrounded by bare ground indicative of the use it receives.  The rough grass lines and treelines on either side of it draw your gaze to the chair lending to its allure.  The aforementioned treelines are also positioned along one of the cardinal lines in the compositional rule of thirds grid should you care to superimpose one onto the photo.  The chair itself is located on another of those gridlines. 

One of the things I tell people is to go and explore the world around them and to give themselves licence to photograph it in an attempt to capture its beauty and essence.  This has been very difficult lately with the stay-at-home directives and the fact that many such places are closed to the public.  However, Opportunity will again lend herself to your service, hopefully sooner rather than later.  Enjoy her when she comes, but be safe until then.  All my best to you all.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen

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