Double take

Photo Randy Vanderveen The text on the back of a woman's T-shirt (right corner) appears to be mocking firefighters' efforts as the try to douse a fire which destroyed several historical buildings in Sexsmith last summer.

Photo Randy Vanderveen, Westminster, Metro London, UK, For North Americans, who aren't even used to paying to use a public washroom, this sign to pay via texting by cell phone warrants a double take.

Photo Randy Vanderveen A pair of scraggly looking moose, thanks to being infected with ticks, look out of place in a picnic area at a Peace Country Provincial Park.

Photo Randy Vanderveen This pair of mallards look like — well ducks out of water – as they waddle down the rail bed along CN's line near a crossing at Evergreen Park. Often I find humour, irony or at the very least the out of place proves to be an effective element in my feature photos.

Sometimes it is a sign that point out an ironic moment (like the lady's t-shirt in the top photo) or something in nature that seems a little out of the ordinary.

However, by grabbing the viewer's attention and forcing them to look a little longer at the photo, it means you have captured them for even a brief period of time.

While humor in personal photography can elevate the photo to a different level, the use of it in a situation like in a newspaper, where a photo is competing against every other element on the page from ads to headlines to stories to white space, means you have at least for a short period of time kept the reader focused on that photo and that page a little longer.

Think back to the times a photo has really grabbed your attention. If it hasn't been the gravity of the situation — like a disaster — it was likely some other element colour, peak action or humour that kept you looking.

Of course humour isn't always appropriate. The first photo is an example. Now that a half-year has passed the photo's irony is eye-catching. However, at the time, it would have taken away from the seriousness of the situation where two significantly historical buildings were completely destroyed in a neighbouring community.

Why not try incorporating the out of place or the humorous in your photos. With a world filled with visuals any time you can keep your audience looking a little longer you have been successful.