Click above to go straight to Autumn 2020’s images
Click below for the full seasonal review.
Purpose of this Review
Review is a key part of the learning process. These Seasonal Reviews provide an opportunity for looking back over the last 3 months to pick out and embed the thoughts and skills developed during that period. Highlighting favourite images, also ensures that they are not lost; and, more importantly, the process of their making is remembered and reinforced.
This seasonal review is particularly significant as it enables me to look back over the three years since I started this project.
Coronavirus Lockdown 2
I continue my photography apprenticeship during the coronavirus pandemic. The risk level in Stoke Poges was defined as only “Medium”, the lowest level. So when the government implemented a tiered lockdown programme, we were subjected to Tier 1 restrictions which still enabled us to travel to other tier 1 areas and meet other people under controlled circumstances.
However, the tier programme was deemed to be ineffective (too many areas in too low a tier) to adequately control the virus. So a second national lockdown was implemented at the start of November with a clear end date of 2nd December (yesterday, as I write this). Stoke Poges is now in a tightened tier 2, which means, amongst other things, that mixing with other households is pretty much forbidden in all social circumstances.
Impact on this project:
- Art Galleries in London remain closed – source of inspiration and subjects for street photography
- Travel locally discouraged, few trips into London or elsewhere, although we did manage a long weekend in Northumberland at the start of September.
- Planned travel to Dorset has been severely curtailed, as this is only allowed for business purposes, managed on one occasion.
Favourite Images
The top-10 images breakdown as follows:
- 2 Northumberland, Landscape + Seascape
- 3 Dorset Mono Seascapes
- 3 Woodland scenes (Stoke Common & Dorney Lake) one colour plus two mono)
- 1 Hopper inspired London Street candid
- 1 Still life for Karl Taylor Education.
Northumberland
The seascape above is a fairly standard image, shot at dawn. To me it evokes calm and simplicity.
Image to the left, inspired by Hiroshi Sugimoto. Discussed extensively in this journal on 15th September.
Dorset Scapes
(Did well in competition on 10th November)
Failed miserably in competition on 8th December, but I still like it.
All images from two short trips to Dorset October/ November.
The goal was to shoot the most obvious targets first to build some experience before moving to less photographed locations later.
Woodland Scenes
Other …
from Karl Taylor Education.
Things Learnt
- Nigel Danson’s 7 Tips for Autumn Photography 5th October – many tips on general landscape photography including workflow:
- Spend time at each new location exploring available angles and view points
- Build an audit of available composition elements and items you want to exclude
- Think about what the image means, i.e., what are you going to title the picture; what emotions do you think it evokes; how do these compositional elements support that meaning
- Frame the image either with a mobile phone or hand-holding the camera, looking for the optimal arrangement of compositional elements
- Just before putting the camera on a tripod, consider what difference moving a few inches in each direction makes on space between element, overlaps, etc.
- Shoot, perhaps at a variety of camera settings to experiment with depth of field, long exposure blur, or just exposure
- Consider what is good about the image just taken, how could it be improved
- Force yourself to shoot from at least two further angles on the same subject (if all else fails shoot from a lower and/ or a higher angle).
- Composition:
- Simplicity
- Power of triangles and leading lines in the frame
- Balance: both tonality and visual weight within the image. this is probably the most important aspect of composition and the most difficult to master.
Whereas the above implies a planned approach to constructing an image, the Abstract Expressionists promoted the idea of giving the subconscious a larger role with automatic drawing etc. Random elements in work are often seen as a good thing in abstract paining; “happy accidents.”
Making the most of what you’ve shot, through post processing – particularly recropping an image, seems to me to have some alignment with the way many abstract artists work; incorporating those elements outside of their direct control.
Comparison with Previous Years
Autumn 2019, i.e., this time last year, was very much dominated by urban multiple exposures, a project I was forced to postpone/ abandon due to travel restrictions imposed to control the pandemic.
Autumn 2017, i.e., year one, all chocolate box woodland landscapes. However, some of the images are quite good and if I were presented with the same opportunity now, I would probably shoot similar shots. I hope only that I might also find additional compositions.