Gill, I think playing with composition is such an interesting process. I often re-work older images just to try things. I like the Hedgerow image - it has a very strong geometry to the composition. I am a sucker for that diagonal through the image, plus each half is split in half (sky and reeds, flowers and hedge). I also like the tree photo - did you try the landscape version as a square crop - the reeds would then have four roughly equal sections with a centred tree. That could be interesting, although that wouldn't solve your colour problem (could you tweak the green of the reeds?)
Thank you so much for your comments James - it is good to know your thoughts about the images. I hadn't thought of a square crop for the tree image but it would work and I will have another look. Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
I like the horizontal photograph of the tree. Mainly because I love dead trees, but also because they seems to be a path to the tree (which isn’t really obvious in the vertical version). To me it adds to the story and this way makes it more interesting. But I also like the photo of the hedgerow, because it is different and not your typical landscape photo.
And kudos to you for getting up so early. I am glad it was worth it! 😆
Thank you very much for your comments Susanne, it is lovely to know your thoughts on the images.
Sunrise is my favourite time of day. partly because I love new beginnings and all the promise they bring and also because I love the soft light of dawn. It is always worth getting up for🙂
I like all three images Gill and think they are too varied to compare against each other. The portrait version of the tree is excellent to my eyes as the tree becomes dominant in the image and the foreground grasses add to the interest and give context to the area.
Thank you very much for your comments Peter and I am glad you enjoyed the images. It is interesting to know that the portrait tree shot stood out. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Of the four images, the two that please or catch my eye the most are the landscape view of the tree and of the hedgerow and for the same reason - the composition seems to draw my eye around the image to examine the various parts of the scene presented as it would be if I was actually there. As I don't know the locations, for me the colours and the lighting reinforce Gill's description at the start of this 'episode' of the blog of being there in the early morning.
In the landscape containing the lone tree I feel as though I would like to know where the path through the reeds leads to and what lies to the left. For the hedgerow image I like the question brought to my mind of what lies around the corner as would be the case if I were actually there.
Then there is the question of how would I attempt portray the locations if I was there actually photographing them .............?
Thank you so much for your comments Richard. It was really interesting to read your thoughts on the images and the reasons why you like them. Thank you very much for sharing.
Choosing how we represent a scene in a photograph is all very personal. When I take a workshop group to a location everyone will come away with different images, despite the fact that we are all shooting together, and I always find this fascinating.
I’m another fan of the hedgerow - a gorgeous soft palette and quilt of different colours and textures. Of the tree versions, the portrait works best for me but I’m with you on the green - the bottom half of the images is entirely one colour without the subtlety of the top half. A really thought provoking article, thank you!
Thank you so much for your comments Mary and I am glad you enjoyed the post and the hedgerow shot. Your comments about the tree image are very interesting and valid. I think they all form part of why I don't like the image as much as the others.
I like the hedgerow shot the best. The tree is lovely, and I can imagine it was almost magical to actually be there, but somehow for me the colours don't quite convey the sense of peace there must have been. Is it that there's a mismatch between what it felt like to be there, and the feeling that looking at the image gives you? Clearly this is subjective!
In the hedgerow image, I love the delicacy of the white flowers - almost like lace.
Thank you very much for your comments Judith and I am glad you like the hedgerow shot.
I think you might be right about the tree shot. There is definitely something lacking emotionally with the image. It doesn't portray exactly what it was like to be there but I am not sure why. There are probably a multitude of reasons but I think all the comments here have helped me get closer to the answer. 🙂
I am drawn to the hedgerow image as it has a painterly feel and gives a real sense of place, where all the elements ie hedgerow and flowers, reeds, river and the tones of the sunrise are depicted - I get a feel for how it was to be there. The tree shots show a more minimal landscape that may work well in mono, for me, although it has beautiful colour it makes the feel of the area starker for want of a better word...I am a lover of lone trees but the hedgerow wins in for me.
Thank you very much for your comments Lin. I found them very interesting particularly regarding the tree shot. I think you have articulated why I don't like it. Stark is a good word and the image does seem to lack emotion. Thank you for helping to consolidate my own thoughts. I am glad you like the hedgerow shot though. 🙂
Gill, you have posed a real mind bender, the images all reflect your style, I liked the hedgerow shot when you first put it out, as I reflected on a shot that I had taken recently. With regard to the tree, I don't dislike it and thought that a B&W image might work, or de saturating the colours, in the end discussing it with Jane, I cropped the bottom to put the horizon on the bottom third, which brought the hero into more prominence! This of course does nothing with regard to the colour issue. A cropped B&W also looks OK. Quite often we take images that we feel are of a style aimed to be liked by others, which I guess has a greater influence if they are taken for commercial reward. In the search for excellence, of images taken for the pure joy of creating, often we tend to be our own greatest critic.
Thank you very much for your comments Chris, I like to try and make you think! 😆
I haven't tried a black and white conversion of the tree but I think that would actually work really well - I will have a look when I get some time. I also appreciate your comments about the crop - it is always interesting to see what other photographers would have done.
In terms of creating for pure joy you are absolutely right and I am definitely my own worst critic! 🙂
Of the two tree photos, I prefer the vertically oriented one. I like the detail and closeness of the reeds. It makes me feel like I'm standing amongst them. I do see what you are saying about the color. I can almost feel the growing warmth of the sunrise, but the reeds seem a bit cool by comparison. Curious, would you consider bumping up the warmth of the reeds a bit in processing?
Thank you very much for your comments Erik and its interesting to read your thoughts. I did try warming the reeds but then that took away the coolness that I felt being amongst them so I found the whole process difficult. I think it was just one of those mornings where the experience was better than the resulting image. 🙂
Jun 24·edited Jun 25Liked by Gill Moon Photography
Hi Gill. You’re writing could almost get me up that early but I’ll wait until a bit later in the year for a sunrise! The connection you have with nature and the way you write about it reminds me of an angler called Chris Yates. All 4 images are lovely but personally I’m drawn to the landscape tree shot the most, followed by the hedgerow. I really like it as a subject and the way the bottom branches straddle the cloud line, plus the path through to it. The hedgerow image has some lovely colours taking you into the sunrise. I’m not really sure how I analyse my own images, but I find it fairly easy to prune a large selection. Something I need to think more on and maybe take more time.
Thank you very much for your comments David and it is interesting to know which image you prefer and why. I think it is always good to analyse your own images, even if you don't like them because you always learn something from the process.
I am afraid I don't do any fishing so I haven't heard of Chris Yates but I will look him up. It's always good to read other peoples writings on the natural world. 🙂
I like the portrait orientation tree shot Gill. I’d be inclined to add a little warmth to the grasses but perhaps it’ll not be true to what you captured. I am not sure analyse is the right word for what I do. In post, there’ll be a shortlist then another. There are definitely preferences at play.
Gill, I think playing with composition is such an interesting process. I often re-work older images just to try things. I like the Hedgerow image - it has a very strong geometry to the composition. I am a sucker for that diagonal through the image, plus each half is split in half (sky and reeds, flowers and hedge). I also like the tree photo - did you try the landscape version as a square crop - the reeds would then have four roughly equal sections with a centred tree. That could be interesting, although that wouldn't solve your colour problem (could you tweak the green of the reeds?)
Thank you so much for your comments James - it is good to know your thoughts about the images. I hadn't thought of a square crop for the tree image but it would work and I will have another look. Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
I like the horizontal photograph of the tree. Mainly because I love dead trees, but also because they seems to be a path to the tree (which isn’t really obvious in the vertical version). To me it adds to the story and this way makes it more interesting. But I also like the photo of the hedgerow, because it is different and not your typical landscape photo.
And kudos to you for getting up so early. I am glad it was worth it! 😆
Thank you very much for your comments Susanne, it is lovely to know your thoughts on the images.
Sunrise is my favourite time of day. partly because I love new beginnings and all the promise they bring and also because I love the soft light of dawn. It is always worth getting up for🙂
I prefer the ones that are most off centered
Thank you for your comments Emily 🙂
I like all three images Gill and think they are too varied to compare against each other. The portrait version of the tree is excellent to my eyes as the tree becomes dominant in the image and the foreground grasses add to the interest and give context to the area.
Thank you very much for your comments Peter and I am glad you enjoyed the images. It is interesting to know that the portrait tree shot stood out. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Of the four images, the two that please or catch my eye the most are the landscape view of the tree and of the hedgerow and for the same reason - the composition seems to draw my eye around the image to examine the various parts of the scene presented as it would be if I was actually there. As I don't know the locations, for me the colours and the lighting reinforce Gill's description at the start of this 'episode' of the blog of being there in the early morning.
In the landscape containing the lone tree I feel as though I would like to know where the path through the reeds leads to and what lies to the left. For the hedgerow image I like the question brought to my mind of what lies around the corner as would be the case if I were actually there.
Then there is the question of how would I attempt portray the locations if I was there actually photographing them .............?
Thank you so much for your comments Richard. It was really interesting to read your thoughts on the images and the reasons why you like them. Thank you very much for sharing.
Choosing how we represent a scene in a photograph is all very personal. When I take a workshop group to a location everyone will come away with different images, despite the fact that we are all shooting together, and I always find this fascinating.
For me it’s the tree in portrait form, I like the lighting of the reeds in the foreground which is a very simple point but it does the job for me.
Thank you very much for your comments Philip. It is always interesting to understand what a viewer sees in my images and I appreciate your input. 🙂
I’m another fan of the hedgerow - a gorgeous soft palette and quilt of different colours and textures. Of the tree versions, the portrait works best for me but I’m with you on the green - the bottom half of the images is entirely one colour without the subtlety of the top half. A really thought provoking article, thank you!
Thank you so much for your comments Mary and I am glad you enjoyed the post and the hedgerow shot. Your comments about the tree image are very interesting and valid. I think they all form part of why I don't like the image as much as the others.
I like the hedgerow shot the best. The tree is lovely, and I can imagine it was almost magical to actually be there, but somehow for me the colours don't quite convey the sense of peace there must have been. Is it that there's a mismatch between what it felt like to be there, and the feeling that looking at the image gives you? Clearly this is subjective!
In the hedgerow image, I love the delicacy of the white flowers - almost like lace.
Thank you very much for your comments Judith and I am glad you like the hedgerow shot.
I think you might be right about the tree shot. There is definitely something lacking emotionally with the image. It doesn't portray exactly what it was like to be there but I am not sure why. There are probably a multitude of reasons but I think all the comments here have helped me get closer to the answer. 🙂
I am drawn to the hedgerow image as it has a painterly feel and gives a real sense of place, where all the elements ie hedgerow and flowers, reeds, river and the tones of the sunrise are depicted - I get a feel for how it was to be there. The tree shots show a more minimal landscape that may work well in mono, for me, although it has beautiful colour it makes the feel of the area starker for want of a better word...I am a lover of lone trees but the hedgerow wins in for me.
Thank you very much for your comments Lin. I found them very interesting particularly regarding the tree shot. I think you have articulated why I don't like it. Stark is a good word and the image does seem to lack emotion. Thank you for helping to consolidate my own thoughts. I am glad you like the hedgerow shot though. 🙂
Gill, you have posed a real mind bender, the images all reflect your style, I liked the hedgerow shot when you first put it out, as I reflected on a shot that I had taken recently. With regard to the tree, I don't dislike it and thought that a B&W image might work, or de saturating the colours, in the end discussing it with Jane, I cropped the bottom to put the horizon on the bottom third, which brought the hero into more prominence! This of course does nothing with regard to the colour issue. A cropped B&W also looks OK. Quite often we take images that we feel are of a style aimed to be liked by others, which I guess has a greater influence if they are taken for commercial reward. In the search for excellence, of images taken for the pure joy of creating, often we tend to be our own greatest critic.
Thank you very much for your comments Chris, I like to try and make you think! 😆
I haven't tried a black and white conversion of the tree but I think that would actually work really well - I will have a look when I get some time. I also appreciate your comments about the crop - it is always interesting to see what other photographers would have done.
In terms of creating for pure joy you are absolutely right and I am definitely my own worst critic! 🙂
I think I like the landscape shot of the tree best. I don’t know why.
Thank you very much Ken, I appreciate your comment. 🙂
Of the two tree photos, I prefer the vertically oriented one. I like the detail and closeness of the reeds. It makes me feel like I'm standing amongst them. I do see what you are saying about the color. I can almost feel the growing warmth of the sunrise, but the reeds seem a bit cool by comparison. Curious, would you consider bumping up the warmth of the reeds a bit in processing?
Thank you very much for your comments Erik and its interesting to read your thoughts. I did try warming the reeds but then that took away the coolness that I felt being amongst them so I found the whole process difficult. I think it was just one of those mornings where the experience was better than the resulting image. 🙂
Ah, I get that. I've had so many experiences like that as well!
Hi Gill. You’re writing could almost get me up that early but I’ll wait until a bit later in the year for a sunrise! The connection you have with nature and the way you write about it reminds me of an angler called Chris Yates. All 4 images are lovely but personally I’m drawn to the landscape tree shot the most, followed by the hedgerow. I really like it as a subject and the way the bottom branches straddle the cloud line, plus the path through to it. The hedgerow image has some lovely colours taking you into the sunrise. I’m not really sure how I analyse my own images, but I find it fairly easy to prune a large selection. Something I need to think more on and maybe take more time.
Thank you very much for your comments David and it is interesting to know which image you prefer and why. I think it is always good to analyse your own images, even if you don't like them because you always learn something from the process.
I am afraid I don't do any fishing so I haven't heard of Chris Yates but I will look him up. It's always good to read other peoples writings on the natural world. 🙂
I like the portrait orientation tree shot Gill. I’d be inclined to add a little warmth to the grasses but perhaps it’ll not be true to what you captured. I am not sure analyse is the right word for what I do. In post, there’ll be a shortlist then another. There are definitely preferences at play.