Centered

I often view centered subjects in pictures with a jaundiced eye. After all, my artistic side of tells me that I must to apply the rule of thirds to all my photographs.

Centered pictures often lack interest. The object of the camera lens just seems to sit there. You don't get the sense that the subject is doing anything.

But the more I gazed at the picture of a local Native American bark tee pee, the more I like it. The picture almost looks like the trunk of a towering redwood that's reaching for the humid coastal air.

If you're looking for application of the rule of thirds, it's there. The native hut may be centered. But the leaves from the nearby liquid amber come alive at the proper points in the grid.

This shot shows the photographer that you can mold the rules -- like the long venerated rule of thirds -- to fit your artistic style and interpretation of the scene.

As with my last three or four pictures, this photo was taken in the yard of the El Dorado County Historical Museum on Octover 13, 2007.

Shot settings: f/11, 1/30 second shutter speed, 39 mm focal length, ISO 200 in aperture priority.