Textures

Seaside, originally uploaded by Cocoabiscuit.

When composing a photo, consider how different textures might add interest to the photo. In this photo, Seaside, taken in the pool area of the Gallows Point complex in Cruz Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands, there are a variety of textures. There is the smoothness of the palms and the cotton candy sky, the shiny metal of the chairs, the backs of the chairs that are semi-transparent so that you can see yet another texture behind it, and the choppy texture of the water (both of the ocean beyond and of the small area of pool in the foreground).
This photo was taken with an infrared converted Nikon D70, mounted on a tripod to get the maximal depth of field, f 18 and a shutter speed of 1/80 sec. The image was then processed in Photomatix to givea high dynamic range (HDR) image to mimimize the differences in lighting in the various areas of the shot.