Sometimes a subject by itself just doesn’t ’sing’ enough to make a good photo in your eyes. This is where using other elements to enhance your subject can make a difference.
Brisbane's Ferris Wheel
OBJECTIVE:
I’d taken several shots of the ferris wheel from various angles, and although looked fine I wanted to try to get something a bit different.
Looking around for other elements I could include to make the photo more interesting, I decided to walk along the ‘Arbour’, a Bougainvillia covered walkway, to see if a view struck me. The colour of the Bougainvillia looked like it might provide a nice splash of colour in an otherwise monochrome looking scene.
COMPOSITION:
The height of the ferris wheel pretty much was going to dictate that it would be the highest element in the photo so that left me to decide where to position the walkway. I found little that impressed me in terms of getting the walkway to form a frame to the left or right of the photo so I went with a foreground interest composition and simply walked forward while looking through the viewfinder until I eliminated any distractions and had the scene I wanted.
SETUP & SETTINGS:
1/200th – f20 – ISO 400. 38mm focal length. No filters on the lens. Handheld. Centre weighted metering. On Camera Ext Flash.
I used the flash here to try to give a little fill light to the walkway.
POST PROCESSING:
A slight curves/levels adjustment. I used a ‘Burn Tool’ to darken the darker parts of the clouds to create a heavier feel.
END RESULT:
I think I got something along the lines I was looking for. The white ferris wheel it’s purple, windowed cars is quite striking up close, but from a distance it becomes rather drab. I’ve seen many photos with the city lights behind it but really wanted to find something different from that.
The Bougainvillea walkway creates an element of interest that grabs your eye before you look up to examine the wheel itself.
I think the Bougainvillea competes with the wheel for interest but I don’t that as they seem to work fine together for me.
Don’t be shy telling me if you agree or not 
another good post Steve. I like how the curve of the trellis structure complements the wheel. It would be interesting to see the same shot with a blue sky background. It might make the wheel ‘pop’ more.
Very nicely done…the curves of the trellis, the flowers and colour draw my eye right into the shot.