My get pushed partner (@lizhammond) challenged me to shoot using one (or more) of the following compositional techniques: the golden ratio, lead in lines or natural frames. My first challenge was to find out what the golden ration is. The next was to try and shoot in that aspect. And when that didn't work out, to crop photos that were close in that aspect.
@lizhammond This was a difficult challenge. The photos I have posted were cropped into the golden ratio as they weren't quite there in the original aspect. This was a difficult technique for me to understand and the explanations that I read on line were a little sketchy. I learned a lot, though and it was fun. This particular photo is just in the ration (1:1.168) Thank you.
Kathy it is to my shame that I see I never responded to this shot, so sorry. It is a bit tricky to get your head around at first but I find it slightly more pleasing than the rule of thirds, if you are looking for that calmness and balance in a shot, which this certainly has.
