Category: Photograph of the Day

Found Geometry #2 Portfolio 10

Critique

This second image shifts the series into more atmospheric territory. By pulling back and allowing that expansive yellow field to dominate the upper half, you’ve created a sense of breathing room—almost like sky or light flooding the composition. The geometry here feels less assertive, more discovered.

What’s particularly effective is the interplay between emptiness and density. That vast, luminous yellow expanse (with its subtle tonal variations and minor imperfections) contrasts beautifully with the compressed, layered geometry below. It creates a horizon line of sorts, evoking landscape despite the abstract subject matter.

The same rich colors return—teal, burgundy, that sharp lime green—but they feel more grounded here, literally weighted to the bottom of the frame. The diagonal still provides movement, but it’s gentler, less insistent.

Technically, the soft focus and grain continue to serve the work well, preventing it from feeling too clinical. This feels contemplative where the first image felt energetic. Together, they’re beginning to show the range within your concept.

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Found Geometry #2

Battambang

21 January – 2026

Image #626 Portfolio 10

Diary Entry #789 26-01-21

Publication #425 26-01-21

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Diary Entry #788 20 January 7:18 pm

I’ve been thinking about Nina Simone. I watched a brief biography about her the other night, and I can’t get Nina out of my mind.

Nina Simone was a child prodigy — a true prodigy. She began playing the piano at the age of three and gave her first public performance when she was just eleven. Her dream was to become the first Black concert pianist. She had the gift, but America’s racist society would not allow that to be.

Nina Simone may well be the most passionate artist I’ve ever encountered. Watching her perform live is nothing short of a spiritual experience. At times, her playing is so intense it feels as though she’s attacking the keyboard. At other times, you can viscerally feel the pain she’s endured — the loss, the hardship — but also the resilience to somehow keep going.

Through her music, her passion for what is right, and her exceptional genius, Nina Simone will forever be remembered as a force for truth and justice. Her life stands as a beacon of hope in a tragically flawed American society dominated by greed, corruption, and violence.

A Brief Biography

Nina Simone (1933–2003) was a groundbreaking American musician, composer, and civil rights activist whose work defied genre and convention.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, Simone was a piano prodigy who began playing at age three. She dreamed of becoming the first Black classical concert pianist and studied briefly at the Juilliard School. However, financial hardship and racial discrimination blocked her path to the Curtis Institute of Music, a rejection that deeply shaped her worldview and later activism.

To support herself, Simone began performing in nightclubs, adopting the stage name “Nina Simone” to hide her career from her religious family. Her debut album Little Girl Blue (1958) featured the hit “I Loves You, Porgy,” launching her into national prominence. Her music blended classical technique with jazz, blues, gospel, and folk, creating a sound that was uniquely her own.

In the 1960s, Simone became a fierce voice in the civil rights movement. Songs like “Mississippi Goddam,” “Four Women,” and “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” became anthems of protest and Black pride. Her performances were emotionally raw, politically charged, and spiritually resonant.

Disillusioned with racism in the U.S., Simone spent much of her later life abroad, living in Liberia, Switzerland, and France. She died in 2003 at the age of 70.

Simone’s legacy endures as a symbol of artistic integrity, political courage, and emotional truth — a voice that continues to inspire generations.

View the video:

https://youtu.be/jQwP9l9PWx4?si=aia7G00esGB2rO7T

Biographical Sources:

[Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nina-Simone)

[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone)

[APNews](https://apnews.ca/biography/nina-simone/)

Found Geometry #1 Portfolio 10

Critique

This composition captures an intriguing collision of manufactured color and organic texture. The diagonal bands create a dynamic tension that leads the eye through the frame, while the deliberate crop transforms what appears to be textured fabric or paper into pure abstraction.

The color palette is remarkably sophisticated—deep teals and navy blues contrast beautifully with warm ochres, burgundies, and that acidic yellow-green. There’s a retro sensibility here, almost reminiscent of 1970s design, yet the arrangement feels contemporary and intentional.What makes this work is the tactile quality. The grainy, almost fuzzy texture gives these geometric divisions a surprising softness, making the rigid angles feel approachable rather than cold. The slight imperfections in the edges—where colors meet and overlap—add authenticity and depth.

The image succeeds in its stated mission: finding geometry where it might otherwise go unnoticed. It’s meditative yet energetic, abstract yet grounded in physical material. A strong opening for the series.

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Found Geometry 1

Battambang

20 January – 2026

Image #625 Portfolio 10

Diary Entry #788 26-01-20

Publication #424 26-01-20

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Segments #8 Portfolio 9

Critique

The eighth and final piece offers a contemplative denouement, pulling back from #7’s luminous assertion into cooler, more introspective territory. The palette shifts decisively—those warm golds retreat while teals, deep greens, and slate blues dominate, creating an almost aquatic or twilight atmosphere that contrasts sharply with the series’ warmer moments.

This tonal shift feels intentional as a closing gesture, like exhaling after sustained intensity. The right segment’s expansive teal and the lower quadrant’s shadowed emerald create a sense of depth and withdrawal. That persistent orange-red accent in the lower right corner provides just enough warmth to prevent the image from becoming entirely cold, a chromatic memory of where the series has been.

Compositionally, it’s measured and balanced, avoiding dramatics. The segments relate quietly to one another rather than creating tension or focal points. There’s a settling quality here, perhaps even resignation—fragments accepting their separation rather than straining toward unity.

As a portfolio conclusion, it’s thoughtfully chosen: not the strongest individual piece, but contextually resonant. It suggests the journey’s end, acknowledging that fragmentation persists, that wholeness remains elusive, yet finding a kind of peace within that reality.

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Segments #8

Battambang

19 January – 2026

Image #624 Portfolio 9

Diary Entry #787 26-01-19

Publication #422 26-01-19

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Segments #7 Portfolio 9

Critique

The seventh piece achieves remarkable synthesis, combining previous discoveries into perhaps the portfolio’s strongest statement. The internal striations return with greater confidence, particularly in that sweeping upper diagonal where parallel color bands create rhythmic momentum that energizes the entire composition.

What distinguishes this work is its dynamic equilibrium. The upper zone’s cool slate blues provide breathing space, while the lower segments build through golden yellows to those characteristic ember reds with assured chromatic logic. The central lime-yellow segments pulse with vitality, creating a luminous core that radiates outward.

Technically, the layering feels most resolved here—striations, color bleeds, and tonal gradations working in concert rather than competing. The right segment’s darkness doesn’t feel oppressive as in #6 but serves as necessary counterweight to the left’s warmth.

Emotionally, this carries optimism absent from darker works while avoiding the earlier pieces’ wistfulness. There’s affirmation here, a sense of fragments coalescing toward meaning rather than drifting apart. As a potential portfolio anchor, it demonstrates formal maturity and emotional range, suggesting the series has found its authentic voice.

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Segments #7

Battambang

18 January – 2026

Image #623 Portfolio 9

Diary Entry #786 26-01-18

Publication #421 26-01-18

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Segments #6 Portfolio 9

Critique

This sixth piece pushes into moodier, more mysterious territory. The overall tonality darkens considerably—those deep ochres and shadowed segments dominate, while bright moments feel like glimpses of light struggling through heavy atmosphere. The contrast between the luminous chartreuse center and surrounding darkness creates dramatic focal tension.

Technically, this may be the series’ most successful composition. The asymmetrical distribution of light and dark creates genuine visual suspense. That brilliant acid-yellow segment glows like a beacon, demanding attention yet remaining enigmatic. The upper diagonal sweep of coral-to-brown creates elegant movement, while darker zones anchor the lower quadrants.

The reappearance of subtle marks—possibly trees or posts—in the upper left adds haunting presence without overwhelming the abstraction. They’re ghost-presences, barely-there witnesses to the fragmentation.

Emotionally, this reads as the most ominous work yet: less pastoral memory, more psychological landscape. The darkness encroaching on those few brilliant zones suggests loss, fading, or the struggle to hold onto clarity. As a series progression, it demonstrates your willingness to embrace genuine unease rather than remaining safely atmospheric.

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Segments #6

Battambang

17 January – 2026

Image #622 Portfolio 9

Diary Entry #785 26-01-17

Publication #420 26-01-17

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Segments #5 Portfolio 9

Critique

The fifth work intensifies the series’ exploration of internal rhythm and variation. Here, the segments themselves contain pronounced diagonal striations—particularly visible in the upper zone—creating a compelling nested geometry: diagonals within diagonals, fragmentation within fragmentation.

This layering adds textural complexity that distinguishes it from the smoother color fields of previous pieces. The striations suggest movement, perhaps wind across crops or light raking across terrain, injecting kinetic energy into the otherwise static grid. The upper segment’s parallel bands create an almost woven quality, evoking textiles or agricultural terracing.

The palette returns to familiar territory but with muddier, more earthbound tones. Those slate blues and tarnished golds feel autumnal, less luminous than #4’s clarity. The right-center segment’s darkness creates visual weight that pulls the eye, disrupting easy flow across the composition.

Emotionally, there’s restlessness here—the internal striations refuse to let segments settle into simple planes. This piece feels less resolved, more in-process, which may be its strength: suggesting ongoing transformation rather than fixed moments captured and divided.

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Segments 5

Battambang

16 January – 2026

Image #621 Portfolio 9

Diary Entry #784 26-01-16

Publication #419 26-01-16

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Segments #4 Portfolio 9

Critique

This fourth piece represents a confident retreat back into pure abstraction, as if the previous image’s flirtation with representation was merely testing boundaries. The tree has vanished, leaving refined color relationships and a more sophisticated compositional balance.

The palette here achieves perhaps the series’ most harmonious interplay—cool sky blues and acidic greens in the upper register gracefully transition through golden middle tones to those signature ember-warm lower sections. The color gradations feel more fluid, less abrupt, suggesting increased control over your process.

Technically, the central cruciform structure gains prominence, almost architectural in its authority. The dark intersections act as hinges around which color planes pivot, creating subtle spatial ambiguity—are we looking down at parceled land or into layered transparencies?

Emotionally, this reads as the most meditative of the four, lacking the melancholy of the first or the drama of the third. There’s a contemplative equilibrium here, a settling into the formal language you’ve established. As a portfolio piece, it demonstrates range within constraint—working variations on your system without repeating yourself.

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Segments #4

Battambang

15 January – 2026

Image #620 Portfolio 9

Diary Entry #783 26-01-15

Publication #418 26-01-15

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Segments #3 Portfolio 9

Critique

The third installment introduces a crucial shift: the emergence of recognizable form. That tree silhouette in the upper segment punctures the pure abstraction, creating a pivotal moment where landscape asserts itself through the fragmentation. This addition transforms the series from pure color-field exploration into something more narratively suggestive.

The composition maintains your established diagonal architecture but feels more volatile, with darker passages creating dramatic contrast against luminous yellows and sky blues. The tonal range expands here—those deep, almost black zones add weight and mystery absent from the earlier, lighter works.

Technically, the increased contrast serves the work well, though the tree form risks becoming illustrative. Its placement feels deliberate yet slightly tentative, as if testing how much representation the abstraction can accommodate without collapsing.

Emotionally, this piece carries tension between concealment and revelation. Where the first two images felt like pure atmospheric meditation, this suggests something specific lies beneath the fragmentation—a particular place, a particular moment trying to emerge or resist dissolution.

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Segments #3

Battambang

14 January – 2026

Image #619 Portfolio 9

Diary Entry #782 26-01-14

Publication #417 26-01-14

Full Disclosure: AI and I

Diagonals As A Creative Element

Although as yet unpublished, I recently wrote a piece about the use of grain in photography as an artistic element. Today, I want to publish a few thoughts about the use of diagonal lines as a compositional element and, by extension, an artistic element.

Diagonals as an artistic element have always appealed to me. I have consciously incorporated diagonals into my compositions as often as possible. But what makes diagonals so appealing?

Before answering that question, I want to briefly discuss what exactly diagonals are. This is probably not necessary, as I am sure most everyone can picture a diagonal line. But, on the other hand, it may be valuable to define diagonals in more detail.

A simple definition states that diagonal lines are angled lines that run from one corner of an image to another or across a significant portion of the frame at an angle.

The use of diagonal lines as a creative design element is not new. Diagonals as a compositional element predate photography. Historically, painters and other visual artists have incorporated diagonals into their compositions for centuries. In photography, the use of diagonals became a common compositional technique in the early 20th century as photographers began to explore more dynamic, eccentric compositions.

What makes diagonals so appealing?Diagonals are appealing, perhaps most importantly, because of their psychological, subconscious impact on the viewer.

In general, diagonals subtly impart five psychological effects on the viewer. They are:

1. Dynamic Tension – Diagonals create a sense of movement and energy in an image, often making the image feel more alive.

2. Depth – They can lead the viewer’s eye through the frame, creating a sense of depth or three-dimensionality.

3. Balance – Diagonals can balance asymmetrical compositions. However, they can also be used to create instability or tension, a slight sense of unease or imbalance, which can be used to dramatic effect.

4. Direction – They guide the viewer’s gaze to specific points of interest, influencing how they perceive the scene.

5. Mood – Depending on their angle and context, diagonals can convey different moods, such as stability or instability.

Incorporating diagonal lines into compositions can transform an ordinary scene into a strong visual story. They are a statement to the photographer’s creative sensibilities to see and harness the underlying geometry of the real and fictional world to create striking images.

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Diagonals As A Creative Element (Written: 21 June – 2025)

Diagonals As A Creative Element (Edited version for publication: 13 January – 2026)