The Third’s the Charm

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“The third time’s the charm,” the saying goes.

It is a paean to the payoff of persistence. Get back up on that horse, re-tackle that problem, dare to open your heart after it’s not only been broken, but broken once again.

It expresses a magical intersection among effort, hope and faith.

Falstaff dispatched one Mistress, advising: “this is the third time; I hope good luck lies in odd numbers. Away, go; they say there is divinity in odd numbers, either in nativity, chance, or death.”

(Homer Simpson’s approach is the considerably less Shakespearean flip side: “You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.”)

Little did I know that the allure of the third also is a tenet of photographic composition–one to which I unwittingly have been subscribing, casting vivid foreground wonders against glittering bouquets of bokeh, endless points of light far beyond my grasp. . . at least on first or second try.

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About Stephanie

In her spare time, Stephanie works full-time, and then some, as an attorney. She has published articles and delivered talks in arcane fields like forensic evidentiary issues, jury instructions, and expert scientific witness preparation. She also is an adjunct professor at a law school on the banks of the Charles and loves that dirty water, as she will always think of Boston as her home. You are welcome to take a look at her Facebook author page, or follow @SMartinGlennon on Twitter. All content on this blog, unless otherwise attributed, is (c) 2012-2020 by Stephanie M. Glennon and should not be reproduced (in any form other than re-blogging in accordance with Wordpress protocol and the numerous other wee buttons at the bottom of each post) without the express permission of the domain holder.

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10 Responses to The Third’s the Charm

billstormont says:

February 24, 2015 at 8:04 pm

Stephanie, thank you for the kind words on my Rule of Thirds photo; this is a back-at-you, the Monarch butterfly photo is very fine, a colorful reminder that Winter will eventually leave (for those in the Northeast) even as it hasn’t “arrived” here (in the Pacific Northwest). Glad you shared that.

- Stephanie says:
  
  March 1, 2015 at 9:46 am
  
  Thank you! I would love to see the Pacific Northwest for myself, and enjoy seeing it through your lens. You have a great eye and technique for unique presentation of things so many of us have photographed, but never quite like that.
  
Allan G. Smorra says:

February 25, 2015 at 10:01 am

I like the way that you brought us to the Rule-of-Thirds challenge. It is delightful and surprising.

- Stephanie says:
  
  March 1, 2015 at 9:46 am
  
  Thank you, Allan. My mind works in often perplexing ways 🙂
  
  - Allan G. Smorra says:
    
    March 1, 2015 at 4:23 pm
    
    There is a lot of that going around.
Amy says:

February 25, 2015 at 12:28 pm

Wow! Remarkable third’s!

- Stephanie says:
  
  March 1, 2015 at 9:48 am
  
  Thanks, Amy. It was interesting to see that the “third” concept is imbedded in most of the photographs my daughter loaned me to gaze upon (when she set up my computer–a thing I need to rely on my children to do).
  
Ben Rowe Aperturef64 says:

February 25, 2015 at 3:07 pm

beautiful images working in the rules of thirds. Really nice.

- Stephanie says:
  
  March 1, 2015 at 9:44 am
  
  Thank you so much–and your photographs are absolutely amazing. We not-really-photographers are very grateful for the understandable photographic instruction!
  
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