The rhythmic pattern of diagonal shafts of morning light, filtering through an avenue of 19th century trees, incongruously creates a cathedral-like setting for a sweeper at work. The branches of the trees diagonally arch over the scene, allowing the sunlight to stream between them. Even the sweepers arms, broom, and feet, as well as a green message board, are oriented as diagonals. I spent more than 15 minutes and several hundred frames here – waiting for someone to come along and match the natural diagonals. Patience, as is often the case, produced a solution.

A graffiti artist has decorated one of the diagonal arches that support a bridge over Lady Bird Lake that joins the Columbia River as it runs through the center of Austin. I photographed the color artwork from a boat as it passed below the bridge. Using a long 400mm telephoto lens, I juxtapose two of the bridge’s supporting arches, building my image around their diagonal planes, which are created by my angle of view and tight framing. That frame uses the diagonal thrusts to embrace what appears to be a goddess, enhancing the power of its presence in the process.

I made this image from my back yard, which adjoins the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. Using a 28mm wideangle lens, I stretch a diagonal slash of clouds through a dark blue sky over the silhouettes of the highest mountains in the Valley of the Sun. Using spot metering mode, I exposed on the brightest spot in the image – the sun -- which darkens the rest of the image and brings up the texture and detail within the diagonal slash. The Yucca plants at far left cover the burned out area of the cloud just over the sun -- offering an exploding array of leaves symbolizing a sunburst. The long diagonal binds the image together and creates a sense of tranquility.

I first saw this coyote trotting quickly across a parking area. We tracked it in our van until it climbed off the asphalt and briefly stood in profile against the shadowy pines before vanishing. I was able to get off one shot and only one shot, which included the entire animal. Later, I cropped the coyote’s figure from the base of neck to stress its diagonal flow. In doing so, the alert ears extend the diagonal thrust upwards, while the coyotes muzzle provides a downward diagonal. By positioning the base of the neck in the lower left hand corner, I allow the dark green textured pines to fill more than half the frame. The coyote seems to be sniffing that space, warily alert, and ready to vanish from our sight forever.

Between the 4th and 13th centuries, the Cham people built a religious center in the mountains of Vietnam’s central highlands, about 25 miles southwest of Hoi An. There were 70 temples here until the US Air Force bombed them during the Vietnam War. There are only 20 left, and most are slowly being restored. Visitors can enter some of the ruined halls to view sculpture and artifacts saved from the bomb-ravaged shrines. The walls of the halls are often streaked with light pouring in from windows set into roofs that have been added to protect the sculpture from the elements. I entered this hall as a double diagonal slash illuminated the texture of the ancient mossy brickwork. These diagonals not only energize what would otherwise be a static image – they also make us want to reach out and almost touch the past.

The final resting place of Ho Chi Minh, the primary leader and force behind Vietnam's emergence as an independent nation, is an important pilgrimage site for many Vietnamese, especially from the north. His embalmed body has been on display since 1975. We were not allowed inside – we were told that the body of Ho Chi Minh was “visiting” Moscow for “rehabilitation.” But I can still tell a story through the men who guard the tomb, whether Ho Chi Minh is there or not. I moved my camera position so that this guard stands squarely in front of a tree. Its limbs are reaching diagonally towards the upper left hand corner of the image. Meanwhile, he thrusts his right leg forward creating a counter diagonal that runs from right to left. His body also leans slightly along the same diagonal line. This image features a compositional pattern created by the diagonal flow of that tree, the implied diagonal posture of the guard, and the repeating horizontal lines of the sculpted tree at right and the hedge that carries the eye across the entire image. It is all about order, rigidity, and duty.