Flying
This photo was originally taken on 2009-07-25 at the park up the hill from our house. This photo is interesting to me for several reasons.
* Technique: I successfully obtained the blurred background by panning the camera in such a way that I followed Mark as he "flew" past on the merry-go-round. You have to be persistent with this stuff. I took nearly 50 shots, most of which were blurred beyond recognition. This one worked very well: I finally got the panning rate correct so that his face is clear.
* Contrasts: Mark's comfortable smile contrasts with the motion in the surroundings. The bright blue sky contrasts with the shade beneath the trees.
* Color: I like the color pattern on the horizon and how it interacts with the subject (Mark's face). From left to right you get the brown of mountain, green from trees, Mark's face, green from a tree, and a brown rooftop. It's a visual chiastic structure that highlights the innermost item.
* Composition: The complimentary colors of red and green are balanced in the photo. The center placement of Mark's face is a little unusual, but I think it works here, because everything else is blurry.
* Lines: the horizontal edges of horizontal lines are sharp, due to the panning direction. Thus, the pop of swingset on left, the merry-go-round in the center foreground, and the roofline at right are all clearly visible. All vertical lines are blurred, such as the swingset supports and the background trees. The shadow lines beneath the merry-go-round are also interesting and lend support to the bottom of the photo.