Lens-Artists Challenge #400 – The Rule of Three

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The old port lighthouse with three small tenders moored up nearby. If the boats had been more interesting I’d have walked around and made them the main subject, rather than the lighthouse.

Tina has set this weeks challenge – The rule of three. The rule of threes depicts images which contain three subjects. This is a lesser-known photographic concept but perhaps one worthy of further exploration.

I have to say this was a new rule for me. I can’t say I’ve ever deliberately taken a picture with this rule in mind, up until today that is. I could say that I’ve tried to shoot still life subjects, like food, in a triangle around the frame. That very loosely follows the same concept but the objects in those triangles can be very different things and not obviously three distinct items.

We’re currently on holiday in Rethymno, Crete, Greece. So without access to my portfolio at home I went out for a walk this morning and tried to find groups three to photograph for the challenge. Like last weeks Lens Artist tasking, it was another interesting photographic exercise. I’ve ended up with a few images I’m pleased with that I wouldn’t normally have shot. It’s one reason I love Lens Artists, I’m thinking differently and shooting images I wouldn’t shoot – last week and today are two great examples.


I’m typing on an iPad, which is painful, so without further ado here are my challenge images, all shot in Rethymno today…

Colourful rustic chairs outside a local restaurant.
Terracotta plant pots on some colourful steps
Three small windows in a building located in the towns old fortress.
A colourful window display. By now I was starting to realise I was just photographing other people’s ideas for groups of three 😎
I got a bit more creative with this intersection of three roofs.
I did create this group of three and tried to tell a little story with them. They’re take away coffee cups from a local cafe we’ve been visiting. I’ve loads more to collect 😃

Thank you to Tina for hosting and setting another challenging challenge. It’s proper ‘SCHORCHIO’ here so I’m getting back on the sun bed now. I’ll leave you with a lovely sunset shot from last night.

All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2026 – All rights reserved

21 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Challenge #400 – The Rule of Three”

  2. Well Steve, you certainly found some perfect subjects for the week’s challenge – I agree wholeheartedly that blogging causes one to capture images they might not previously have paid attention to – it’s one of the things I really like about blogging.The chairs, the colorful plant pots and the coffee cups (especially the last) are my favorites this week. Terrific!!

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  5. What a fun set of shots you have shared! I especially like the colors of the window pots, and the asymmetry of the blue stairs and placement of the pots. You are so right – others have discovered the beauty of this rule before us! Oh, and what a gorgeous sunset. Thanks for including it.

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    • Thank you Ann Christine, the chairs did look good but I’d have been a bit nervous sitting on them. My description of rustic really meant – dead dodgy 🙂

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