Why a composition theme, and why the L? Image composition, whether painting, applique or photography, has as much to do with the pleasing arrangement of subjects within the image as the subjects themselves. We all know the "Rule of Thirds" and some of the other basic rules, but through the centuries, artists have used a variety of basic compositions to create images that produce the desired effect on the viewer.

The centered oval for flower arrangements, the triangle for family portraits (ever notice that you rarely see a Madonna and Child painting that isn't a basic triangle?), the U for dramatic landscapes, the S and Z curves to compell the viewer's eyes to sweep back and forth throught the image, the strong diagonal that gives depth to an image... and then the often overlooked L composition, that anchors the image on one side and finds balance with an adjacent side.

Challenge 56 invites you to seek out the subject matter of your choosing and present it using the L composition. You can choose a landscape, still life, people, pets, objects of any kind... just use your imagination. You can simply find a suitable composition in your environment, or create one out of whatever subjects you choose. You may also use cropping to achieve your L composition. The only limitations are that you cannot "create" an L composition using your image software -- it must be photographed naturally. The usual post processing guidelines apply.

Let's have fun with it! Formal announcement with beginning and ending times can be found on the dpreview Olympus Talk Forum under ***Challenge 56: L Composition***. Good luck to everyone!

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