“A farm at first light is more beautiful than gold, or a ship’s sails in the mist. Many ordinary things are far more beautiful.”
George Webbe Dasent
This week Patti invites us to show the effect of using diagonals in our images (reminding me as a Harry Potter fan of Diagon Alley). As she describes in her beautiful post, we can use diagonals to direct the viewer’s eyes to the most important areas of the scenes we capture. I’ve opened with two archive images from our visit to China. Above, the diagonal leads from the bottom left up the “steps” of the rice field to a lone worker surveying the crops. The light that afternoon was incredible, adding to the impact of the lone figure standing in the sun.
Below, I’ve included a classic example of The Great Wall. We see diagonals in the wall’s path leading to a lookout station, then continuing on for thousands of miles. The path’s design was probably based on the terrain, but I prefer to think there was a visual design aspect as well š.
Double Diagonals, The Great Wall of China
“Brick walls are there to show us how badly we want things.”
Randy Pausch
The Great Wall offers thousands of opportunities for capturing leading lines. So too the vast network of roads and walking paths that surround us in our everyday lives. Below, several examples of leading diagonal lines. First up, a road through the mountains that divide the U.S and Canada near Glacier National Park:
A Beautiful Ride, Montana
“The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.”
Jon Bon Jovi
Even farther afield, a path leading to Lake Pehoe and from the lake to the beautiful Torres del Paine, all in Chilean Patagonia:
Lake Pehoe, Torres del Paine, Chilean Patagonia
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”
Henry David Thoreau
Next, our own lovely Kiawah Beach and my personal boardwalk approach š. Notice the well-defined rainstorm directly across from the beachwalkers.
Approachin’ The Ocean, Kiawah
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Lastly, my husband and my brother walking a wooden path through the trees leading to a beach in Bethany, Delaware.
Beach-Bound Buddies
“If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.”
Anatole France
Finally, some diagonal examples from Mother Nature herself. I promise I did not arrange the starfish mosaic on the left of the grouping. They were arranged exactly as shown following a recent storm.
Nature’s Diagonals
“I see my path but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”
Rosalia de Castro
Once I started looking for images to include in this week’s challenge, I found WAY too many examples, so I thank Patti for the opportunity to explore them, and for her reminder of their importance when visualizing our captures. We look forward to seeing your favorites as well. Please remember to link to Patti’s beautiful original here and to use the Lens Artists Tag. Thanks also to all of those who responded to last week’s Home Sweet Home challenge. It was a wonderful reminder of the marvels to be found everywhere in our world. For me it was also a reminder of the vast difference between the world we see as as tourists and that which can be seen through the eyes of those who know the local secrets!
Next week’s challenge will be hosted by Ann-Christine on her beautiful Leya blog so be sure to tune in for that next Saturday. In the meanwhile, enjoy the holiday season but as always please stay safe and be kind.
Interested in joining the Lens-Artists challenge? Click here for more information.
Travels and Trifles 
I enjoyed all of your diagonals Tina. As always you have presented beautiful scenes and photos!