Texturizing nEgative SpAce

Hello,
I am finally back with a new post about negative space and what opportunities it offers when it comes to using textures.
This term had no meaning to me until eventually some people used it in their comments when responding to pictures I posted on Flickr.
I had only a vague idea about its meaning, but a few weeks ago I began searching for this term and was stunned how many interesting articles and texts there are on this compositional concept.

Move your mouse over the pictures to see the before and after images!

Tri-Angle     In the above shot the texture use in the fog section is echoing the trees twigs. What does Negative Space mean? It is not limited to photography but does apply to art in general.  Wikipedia defines it as " the space around and between the subject (s) of an image".  I don't want to delve into this concept too deeply, if you search for it, you will find heaps of articles on this topic. In general you can either use this space to draw attention to the subject of your image or you can make the negative space itself the "real" subject of your work. For instance you can use lines through the space or colour gradients to draw attention to the focus of your picture. However you use it is finally left to your creativity and imagination. I find negative space interesting with respect to the composition & design of empty spaces in my photos, such as fog covered landscapes, skies, beaches and so on. The use of negative space is not limited to landscape shots, but can also be found in close-ups and macros. Use of textures & negative space The use of textures can make the negative space more interesting and it ideally helps to bring out the main subject as well. In this close-up of a rose-hip I wanted to have a painerly look.

Fruit of Winter A clever and creative use of the negative space and a well chosen texture can really help to transport emotions and and messages in your work. Here are some additional examples of textured negative spaces: I think the tones and the structures of the sky made this more interesting and added much to the gloomy atmosphere the bad weather and fog provided.

Even a dull day has its charm This beach scene became more balanced with the application of textures, esp. in the sky.

One of the 1st

Bizarre Trees I hope this post gives you an idea about the possibilities textures offer to enhance & design negative space . I think adding textures to these parts of an image really can make the pictures special and more interesting. Please consider visiting my build-your-own-texture-pack gallery . Thank you very much!!