Picture This

Our Picture This! assignment this month was “Leading Lines: Into Infinity.” We called for images that brought the viewer’s eye into the frame with various compositional techniques, including leading lines, S-curves, and parallel lines that seem to meet at infinity, or vanishing points. Readers responded with a host of architectural, urban, natural, and highway images, all of which bring the eye deeply into the frame.

Eiffel Tower

Jay R. Solomon’s photo brings together leading lines with vertical form that both resolves and carries forward the visual play. He photographed with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel and a Canon 18-55mm lens; exposure was f/9 at 1⁄125 sec. © 2010, Jay R. Solomon, All Rights Reserved

Morning Sun

Mike Zale surrounded his compositional ploy with atmospherics of early morning fog. He photographed with a Sony Alpha A500 and an 18-55mm lens. © 2010, Mike Zale, All Rights Reserved

Amtrak 1

While we had quite a few photos using railroad tracks, this one by Wood Dickinson used the railroad car, with the conductor providing a fascinating counterpoint. He photographed with a Canon F1 and a 50mm lens using Kodak Tri-X pushed to EI 1600. © 2010, Wood Dickinson, All Rights Reserved

Tulip Fields

Greg Tucker sent us this colorful image made near Mount Vernon, Washington, photographed with a Nikon D200 and a Nikkor 28-105mm lens with a polarizer. © 2010, Greg Tucker, All Rights Reserved

Poplars

Jonathan Goatcher made this image of poplar trees while lying down in the road at a tree farm near Boardman, Oregon. He used a Canon EOS 40D at ISO 200 with an exposure of f/32 at 1.2 seconds. © 2010, Jonathan Goatcher, All Rights Reserved

Montana Plains

Lawrence G. Davies sent us this quintessential plains rail shot made with a Fuji FinePix S2 Pro and a Nikkor 17-35mm lens. Exposure was f/8 at 1⁄500 sec. © 2010, Lawrence G. Davies, All Rights Reserved

Monument Valley

This road stretching into infinity is surrounded by the grandeur of Monument Valley, Utah. Cdr. John Newlin, USN (Ret.) shot with a Nikon D300 and a Tamron 18-200mm lens with an exposure of f/13 at 1⁄640 sec. © 2010, Cdr. John Newlin, USN (Ret.), All Rights Reserved

Fort Point Officers’ Quarters

Linda Herman made this intriguing shot at a most photogenic spot in San Francisco, Fort Point. She shot with a Pentax K2000 and an 18-55mm lens with an exposure of f/4 at 1⁄10 sec. © 2010, Linda Herman, All Rights Reserved

Reichstag

The structure of the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany, is a great source for many fascinating points of view, including this one by Mark Dyason made with a Kodak EasyShare V550 and an exposure of f/2.8 at 1⁄30 sec. © 2010, Mark Dyason, All Rights Reserved

Farm, Indiana

We were struck by the elegant simplicity and light of this photo by Art Hansen. He photographed with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 18-200mm lens with an exposure of f/11 at 1⁄200 sec. © 2010, Art Hansen, All Rights Reserved

The Road To Cabezon, NM

Ossy Werner sent us this shot of a ribbon of a road lit by dappled light coming through breaks in the clouds. The image was made with a Nikon D200 and an AF-S Nikkor 18-120mm VR lens. © 2010, Ossy Werner, All Rights Reserved

42nd Street

This almost bucolic view of 42nd Street is a rare sight captured by Ralph Selitzer with a Canon EOS 50D and a Tamron 28-300mm lens. © 2010, Ralph Selitzer, All Rights Reserved

Pecan Orchard

At first view of this shot by Bill O’Malley it looks like we are looking at a split screen, but it’s only the lines, reflections, and light that play that visual trick. He photographed with a Nikon D100 and a Nikkor 24-120mm lens. Exposure at f/8 was 1⁄640 sec. © 2010, Bill O’Malley, All Rights Reserved

The Long Road Home

The long highway and bright yellow lines are offset by billowy clouds and deep green foliage in this photo by Eddie Baugher. Exposure with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT and a Tamron 28-75mm lens at ISO 200 was f/13 at 1⁄500 sec. © 2010, Eddie Baugher, All Rights Reserved

Washington, DC Subway

Jeff Sherman made this photo in DC’s amazing subway using a slow shutter speed to blur the train as it came into the station. Exposure with a Contax G2 on Kodak Vericolor color negative film was f/8 with the shutter on B (he thinks for about 4 seconds). © 2010, Jeff Sherman, All Rights Reserved