Day out at Kingston Lacey

I went out for the day to the National Trust venue at Kingston Lacey. The main point of interest was the avenue of Beech trees which border the main road through the National Trust estate. The visit was organised by Light and Land and Charlie Waite was leading the group.

The day was very well spent and I had an opportunity to talk to Charlie about developing a personal style. Interestingly Charlie felt that this would tend to emerge in one's work over time. He also felt that in his case it was his decision to concentrate on Landscape work which helped him to develop his personal signature.

In truth it was not the best time to visit the beech avenue as the leaves had all gone and sadly the light was very flat and the sky grey....so it was not a day for capturing one of my best images. In fact I was quite disapponted with my work from this trip and so I have decided to show one of my images here and to analyse how I might have done better...

Beech Avenue Kingston Lacey

As I indicated above, better light and autumn leaves would have made this a better image so I will focus on issues of composition. My ideas was to use the row of beeches as a leading line towards the gap at the end of the row of trees which in my concept would be a point of interest. In fact the gap at the end of the trees is not very disctinctive....a splash of colour, light or some other interest would be needed to create this. In my image there is no focal point. The second thing I am unhappy about is that there is a gap in the row of trees - between the second and third tree. This reveals the road behind and more importantly breaks up the leading line intended to lead the viewer deeper into the image. Finally I really find the unattractive large branches (including the one which has been cut off) very distracting and ugly. These break up the rhythm created by the curves of the smaller branches which make up the archway.

What might I have done about these issues....well I should have spent much more time looking for a suitable location to capture my shot. There were plenty of potential locations. I should then have spent a lot of time considering the detail of my composition - avoidance of the ugly, making sure the leading line is continuous, ensuring continuity of the rhythmic nature of the branches and considering the focal point at the end of the arch...I need to return.

Project 29 - rephotographing a famous image

For this project the aim is to re-photograph a well known landscape image and following the work to analyse how well the image replicates the original in terms of lens and viewpoints selection. A review of how the landscape looks today compared to the original including changes to the environment, light etc.

For this work I have chosen a well known photograph of the Manger at Uffington by Charlie Waite. This is taken from Landscape The Story of 50 Favourite Photographs by Charlie Waite  pp 58...this is shown below:

The Manger, Berkshire by Charlie Waite

My image of the same view is below:

The Manger, Berkshire by Keith Greenough

As regards how well I have replicated the original image I have the following comments:

• The field of view is very similar...I used a 28mm lens and I suspect that Charlie used an equivalent lens on his Hasselblad. 
• My horizon is a bit higher in the frame and I think I have revealed more depth in the base of the Manger. This could mean that I was slightly higher up the slope when I took the photograph.
• The grass in the foreground of my shot is much higher...could be as a result of the time of year.

Other differences I have noted in the images are as follows:

• The sky in my image is largely a bank of dark cumulostratus...not so interesting. Charlie has managed to capture a more interesting sky with more varied clouds....I wonder thought if he might have darkened the sky too much with his ND filter(?)
• The more interesting cloud action in Charlie's image can also be seen in the shadows it has created on the landscape. In my image there is very little hard shadow and the landscape is quite bland. In Charlie's the left bank of the Manger and the background landscape are in quite deep shadow thus revealing the contours of the Manger itself in a much more expressive way....Charlie's image is far superior in terms of light!
• On my image the grass is quite green throughout...In Charlie's it is green in the base of the Manger and quite yellow and dry around the perimeter....again this accentuates the shape of the Manger far better and once again Charlie's image is superior...

It seems that the key lesson of this exercise for me is not just one of identifying the viewpoint and lens....which I certainly found useful and interesting...but it is also about the right light and also looking for other elements of the landscape which delineate and accentuate shapes. I wonder how many times Charlie visited the Manger to get his shot.

The project also called for me to make a second image from a viewpoint within about 100 ft from the first. In this case I decided to produce an image based on a slice of the landscape, which uses some sheep which had appeared as the key point of interest and the ripples in the landscape as an interesting backcloth. I decided to present this image as a black and white and here it is:

The Manger Variation Two by Keith Greenough

Once again sadly I think that the light is not helping this image, the scene is a little too flat. Aslo the key subjects, ie the sheep are perhaps a little too distant...a longer lens might have been better.

Light and Land Workshop

I have just got back from the Light and Land Photo workshop in the Lake District with Charlie Waite and Phil Malpas....both acclaimed British landscape photographers.

I have a great time, even though the weather was appalling - it rained every day. I went a day ahead of the workshop and returned one day after it finished giving a total of five days for photography. There was also plenty of classroom work and photo critiques, so it was a busy time.

I had hoped that I would manage to capture a few photographs for my next assignment - a linking theme. My chosen subject is water. In the end I feel that I have captured enough images to base the entire assignment on my lakeland visit, with the revised title Lakeland Water. The fact that the shots were all taken within a week during rainy weather in Autumn adds to the consistency of the photographs - plenty of gold and yellow foliage and blue/grey skies to accompany the water. I will post a separate description of these images within the next week or so when  I have finalised my submission for my tutor.

So what did I learn....well plenty. Most importantly it reaffirmed a number of learning points from the course so far....

• I need to take greater care in previsualising an image - they handed out a black card with a 3x2 aperture to us and suggested that we spend some time working on our compositions before shooting...this worked really well.
• I need to anticipate the light and be prepared to wait for things to develop - this is the way to capture the best out of a given situation
• I need to work on capturing images within camera and not to rely on post processing so much - in this regard I have been trying to rein back on my tendency to over filter skies....the result of this practice is to constrain the contrast in my images too much
• I gained useful insight into digital colour management and the impact of the linear gamma of digital sensors and will review my digital workflow to accomodate some improvements
• I gained inspiration and critical feedback from two highly accomplished photographers whom I admire

Apart from the photographs of Lakes, becks and rivers, I also made some interesting images of trees clad in their autumn colours. Here are a couple of examples...

Great Wood, Derwentwater English Lake District

Near Surprise Corner, English Lake District

As I indicated in my previous post I am a great admirer of Charlie Waite's work. I have also come to regard Phil Malpas's images very highly. Here is an example of his work...

Val D"Orcia, Tuscany by Phil Malpas

Speaking to Phil about composition was very instructive. He uses the technique of composing the image, then reconsidering it to decide what could be taken out to emphasise the main subject even more, he recomposes the shot accordingly and then reconsiders again from the simplification standpoint....a great way to reduce an image to its most powerful statement.

Charlie Waite Lake District Workshop

For some time now Charlie Waite has been one of my favourite landscape photographers. His work has a graphic quality that I really like. So much so that I have two original prints of Charlie's on my walls at home.

Charlie works with medium format film, using a Hasselblad, which gives a square format - a format which complements very well his graphic style. What I admire most about his work is the care and precision he takes to compose the shots and the time he gives to waiting for just the right moment to capture an image. He will identify an element in the image which makes the shot - for example a small patch of green in a broader darker landscape. He will then wait for just the right moment when the light catches this spot to accentuate it in the composition. His compositions are very precise and generally simple and powerful - something I would like to develop in my photography.

Next week I am attending a Workshop run by Charlie in the Lake District. I am really looking forward to this and hope to learn a lot and to gain inspiration towards my goal of developing my own style.

I have collected several of Charlie's books and these are listed in my bibliography. Here are a few of his images.

Cows on a beach by Charlie Waite

Rovero Veneto by Chalie Waite

I will report back on the trip in due course.