Week 6 - Episode 33 - Dividing up the Space

Kingfisher, Ohara Koson, c. 1920, Rijksmuseum Collection

Branches are a great tool for dividing up pictorial space - and Japanese artists are masters at using them to create captivating compositions.

In the above print by Nakamura Hôchû, a big bold branch protrudes into space, creating a nice dynamic counterpoint to the more static treatment of the plum blossoms - making it feel very modern, almost abstract.

Ohara Koson is a master of branches. On the right, he has simply used a very thin one as a diagonal, dividing the square into two triangles. In addition, the wispiness of the branch helps to emphasise the weightlessness of the kingfisher. Both branch and bird direct our eyes down, towards the simple blue splashes of water.

But with bigger birds come bigger, bolder branches - and colours.

The cawing crow is nestled in a v-shape that can easily support it’s weight - and temperament.

The emptiness in the lower half of the picture forms a nice counterpoint to the rowdiness above.

Bull-headed shrikes are not so massive - and here we have a thinner branch pushed to the side, to make room for the silent focus of the bird: a spider in its web.

Crow on a snowy branch, Ohara Koson, 1900 - 1930, Rijksmuseum Collection

Bull-headed shrike and spider, Ohara Koson, 1900 - 1930, Rijksmuseum Collection

Do you need to stick to a single branch? Absolutely not. Hiroshige uses plum branches to subdivide the frame into several mini-frames in his famous Plum Garden at Plamedo Shrine, picture below. Do you see how the people are all neatly set into their own branch-bordered frames?

The Plum Garden at Kameido Shrine, Hiroshige (I) , Utagawa, 1857, Rijksmuseum Collection

Today, focus on bigger branches and use them to create interesting compositions. 

You can push your branches to one side of the canvas to make way for a view, a bird, a spider. 

You can make them the star of your picture and put them right in the centre. 

You can use them as a directional device and let them point towards something - whether in- or outside the frame. 

The possibilities are infinite - so go and experiment. Try lots of different angles and perspectives.

Have fun - and do share your branch compositions on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #kramerseye.

Listen to today’s podcast

Week 6 - Episode 32 - Slender Projections Seen from Above

Branches don’t just grow on trees. They can also “extend from, or enter into a main body or source”. And on rainy days the branches I prefer to look at are in atlases or photo books.

There is an undeniable beauty to the way rivers drape themselves over land. Sometimes like fine webs and deltas, sometimes as duelling snake, as in this beautiful picture by Yann Arthus Bertrand of a glacier tongue in Kyrgyzstan. I have been dreamily perusing atlases since I was very little, but discovering Betrand’s work in the early 90s made me appreciate the magic of this globe of minerals we dwell on even more. He kindly lets you download his stunning collection of aerial photography for personal use on his website, so do check it out: http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/

Glacier tongue near the Khan Tengri peak, Sary-Jaz Mountains, Ysyk-Köl region, Kyrgyzstan (42°10' N - 80°00'E), Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Today, focus on these earthly branches from above. If you’re not on a plane or climbing mountains then open up those old atlases and look for river deltas, glaciers, tributaries. Or go online and lose yourself in the work of aerial photographers. My Modern Met has a great selection here.

Enjoy your bird’s eye view of the earth today and do Share your river- and other branches on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #kramerseye.

Listen to today’s podcast.

Week 6 - Episode 31 - Become a Student of Branches

I think I know what an average branch looks like - and you probably do too. 

But have you ever looked at them for a long time?

Noted how they zig-zag into space, how they taper off, where they’ve sprouted new twigs? 

Five studies of branches without leaves, J. Bernard, 1820 - 1835, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

There are many factors (genetics, available light and nutrients, hormones, amongst others) involved in the process of growing branches. And these variables combine magically to create the magnificent beauty of branches out there for you to observe. 

Today, become a student of branches.

Point your eye and camera upwards and observe them against the sky. What different shapes, zig-zags, directions and distances can you observe?

How do different kinds of trees vary in how they branch out? 

And what kind of variety can you find within a single species of tree or shrub? 

Enjoy exploring all those different branches, and do share your branch studies on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #kramerseye.

Listen to today’s podcast

Week 6 - Episode 30 - Branching Out

Our theme this week is inspired by a beautiful exposition of Japanese nature paintings and prints I saw yesterday at the Japanmuseum Sieboldhuis in Leiden. 

There were delightful birds, flowers, tigers and even a dragon. But I was at least as moved by the beasts as I was by the branches.

Some bare, some with specks of tiny flowers, some ever-green. 

Branches are fascinating and beautiful.

The way they extend across three-dimensional space.

How they grow and reach.

Divide the frame.

And in spring, how they signal the start of the new cycle as they start sprouting tiny leaves or flowers. 

Today, start by observing branches you come across.

And yes, feel free to include bank, river and other branches.

Spot them, capture them and share them on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #kramerseye.

Listen to today’s podcast.