Despite the industrialization of the area my favourite place to go was the Ruhr area in Germany. When I still lived in the Netherlands, it was a car journey of 1,5 hours from our house.
The area became the “European Capital of Culture” in 2010. This meant a facelift for a region that had been a dirty, neglected orphan since the mines and steel industry slowly came to a halt.
There are a lot of interesting places nowadays, but my favourites are Insel Hombroich and Zollverein Essen.
Of course, we should take pictures of the highlights when we are visiting an unknown region or country. Yet, it is also fun to restrict yourself by taking pictures according to a theme.
It is important for a photographer, or any creative person in general, to always try to improve. However strange it may seem, limiting ourselves is a major contributor to betterment.
I do it often, giving myself an assignment to photograph only round objects, or movement, just vertical lines, S-like shapes, contrasts in thick-thin or big-small, and so on. I can assure you, you will see different subjects to take pictures of.
Typeface designers and graphic designers know that if they work mathematically and exact, everybody will think they are bad designers. They have to use tricks to make sure that designs are well balanced.
In How is Negative Space Helpful for Designers and Artists? I explained the trick of negative space. In this article, I will explain how designers use optical illusions.
Sometimes the used technique requires adjustments that may not be optical illusions in the usual meaning but are necessary anyhow. I’ll give an example of that as well.