At my camera group yesterday, we had a fascinating conversation about skies. As we critiqued each other’s photos, John repeatedly made the comment that there was too much sky in our photos. When John says something like that, you listen to him. Not just because he’s an experienced photographer but because he’s an experienced judge, with dozens of club-level photographic competitions informing his opinion.

And yet, several of us disagreed with him.

Some rules-of-thumb from club-level camera completions make good sense:

• Make sure the horizon is straight
• Make sure the photo has a clear subject
• Follow the rule of thirds (or if you break it, make sure it’s obvious that you’ve deliberately broken it)
• Use leading lines
• Ensure the photo is free of distractions
• Make sure the exposure is correct
• The main subject must be in focus (or if it isn’t in focus, it must be deliberately and clearly out of focus)
• Avoid cliches, etc

I think the rule that we were breaking was – in John’s view – “make sure the photo has a clear subject”. Look at this composition. Is it a photo of the sky, or a photo of the dome? If the answer is both, then the photo doesn’t have a clear subject. And if it doesn’t have a clear subject, is it a good photo?

Well. John was in a minority. We’re not into entering photo competitions. We’re just a group of friends who enjoy taking photos together. And when you live in Scotland – a country known for its characterful skies – well. it would be silly not to take advantage.

I do agree with John on one thing though. I’d never enter this image into a photo contest.