Thanks Gill, very enjoyable read, especially the descriptions of the environments you take us to. Lovely collection of images, even though they are set against a dark and moody background, they present a sense of hope. A new year and new beginnings. Thanks for the podcast recommendation too.
Wow those Snowdrops really have come to life amongst a dark background Gill!
Fancy that chap thinking you had errr - passed on ha ha!
As usual your writing is very descriptive and inspirational!
I can now feel the instinct of Spring within and I intend to bring my photography out from it’s period of hibernation. Reading your words is putting the Sun on my Cornflakes!
Thank you Al, I am glad you enjoyed the post and it brought you a bit of sunshine! Being out amongst the snowdrops really does make it feel like spring is on the way so I hope you enjoy dusting off your camera and getting out. 🙂
It’s good to see the snowdrops in their setting Gill, and the dark colours of their background emphasise their pallor. It’s very effective. I’m a longtime admirer of Sandra too, and without diminishing her skills, there does seem to be a softer, more evocative approach to photographing flora on the continent. It’s always good to have a little mystery.
Thank you very much for your comments Michela. I agree with you about the softer shots and the air of mystery. I love that style of photography and I think you do both really well.
I love these dark images Gill - I find they present a really strong positive statement. No doubt it is partly the contrast of white on dark I love. There is also no doubt what the subject is - the eye has nowhere to go but these groups of beautiful flowers. I particularly like the third and fourth images where there is some detail in the background which implies a broader context but isn't distracting.
Thanks Gill for the article, Abe the images. When I look at the recent crop (pun intended) of images, I have to say that the first words that springs to mind is ‘hope’. It’s that ability, as you say, to battle against the elements and the leaves and the floor, and still spring to life, year after year. I love the idea of that resilience.
Thank you very much Michael. It was interesting to read what you took from the images and I am glad that you went away with the emotion I was trying to portray. 🙂
Gorgeous images Gill and I love the low viewpoint plus the framing of the snowdrops with the leaves of the woodland floor. Love the mood of the darker images, kind of like a gothic woodland, that is a compliment!!!!!
Thank you very much Jon - I love the idea of a Gothic woodland! It actually does have that vibe about it being right next to the priory and the remains of the old church. 🙂
This set of images are beautiful. I recently came across a rich carpet of snowdrops at Dalkeith Country Park, near Edinburgh, but felt I struggled to really capture the essence of the snowdrops. Your essay has provided me with a lot of inspiration for my next trip into the woods.
A beautiful set of images Gill – I particularly like the first one, wonderful bokeh! I love environmental portraits of the flowers showing their surroundings and think that for me, whilst the lighter images convey a happy, uplifting mood the darker ones, especially the third image, do convey a sense of the resilience of the flowers as they break through the earth each year in such dark and challenging conditions to give us a glimpse of those blooms of hope on the woodland floor.
I think it’s important that mood is conveyed in a photograph – for me it all comes under the umbrella of a sense of place, the mood, spirit, shape, light or darkness of a place and you have conveyed that here well...lovely work.
Thank you so much Lin. It was good to read your thoughts about the images and I agree with you about the importance of conveying mood - it is what moves us when we view an image.
I got to say I like the lighter images better. But this might be because I live in Montana. Both are excellent. Maybe if I were in a dark mood, I'd enjoy the dark. 'Berta
Thank you for your comments Roberta, it is good to hear your opinion. Light images have always been my thing, but sometimes it good to convey different moods.
For me I prefer the darker images I think a black background makes the main subject ( which in this case is white) really stand out. These are quite different from your normal style and I really like them.
Yes Gill, these are quite a bit different than your familiar style, but I absolutely love these! The contrast of the dark and earthy surroundings with the white snowdrops really speaks of hope and the turning of the seasons!
I recently read an article in Substack by Brittany Polat about wabi sabi and incorporating philosophical ideas in art. That really opened my mind to an aspect of photography I want to learn to embrace. I'm excited to work towards it.
Thank you so much Erik, I am glad you enjoyed them. It was quite a challenge to do something different but I really enjoyed it.
I will have to check out the article you mention. I have read a few things on that subject so I will look forward to seeing how you incorporate them into your work.
Do check out her article, I’d love to hear what you think. She’s @Brittany Polat who writes Stoicism for Humans and the article is Wabi Sabi Stoicism from Feb 21.
Beautiful photos. Although the first thing i thought of when i read you were in the leaf litter was, i hope she’s doing a “tick check”! Even during the winter months in the cold Eastern Canadian winter i worry about ticks!
I like where you focus on the feeling of light and strength or the mood of the snowdrops, rather than the technical aspect of correctness.
I will try that on my next adventure. To have the feeling or mood to capture rather than getting the light just so.
The snow drops are wistful and show their fortitude and beauty.
Thank you for your comments Laura and I am glad you enjoyed the images. I think it is more important to try and convey emotion and mood rather than be too worried about the more technical aspects of photography. I think it is what we engage with in an image.
I hope you enjoy the challenge when you next venture out.
Thanks Gill, very enjoyable read, especially the descriptions of the environments you take us to. Lovely collection of images, even though they are set against a dark and moody background, they present a sense of hope. A new year and new beginnings. Thanks for the podcast recommendation too.
Wow those Snowdrops really have come to life amongst a dark background Gill!
Fancy that chap thinking you had errr - passed on ha ha!
As usual your writing is very descriptive and inspirational!
I can now feel the instinct of Spring within and I intend to bring my photography out from it’s period of hibernation. Reading your words is putting the Sun on my Cornflakes!
Love it!
Al.
Thank you Al, I am glad you enjoyed the post and it brought you a bit of sunshine! Being out amongst the snowdrops really does make it feel like spring is on the way so I hope you enjoy dusting off your camera and getting out. 🙂
It’s good to see the snowdrops in their setting Gill, and the dark colours of their background emphasise their pallor. It’s very effective. I’m a longtime admirer of Sandra too, and without diminishing her skills, there does seem to be a softer, more evocative approach to photographing flora on the continent. It’s always good to have a little mystery.
Thank you very much for your comments Michela. I agree with you about the softer shots and the air of mystery. I love that style of photography and I think you do both really well.
Thanks Gill ☺️
I love these dark images Gill - I find they present a really strong positive statement. No doubt it is partly the contrast of white on dark I love. There is also no doubt what the subject is - the eye has nowhere to go but these groups of beautiful flowers. I particularly like the third and fourth images where there is some detail in the background which implies a broader context but isn't distracting.
Thank you very much James. I am glad you enjoyed the images and it was interesting to read your thoughts about them - thank you for sharing them.
Thanks Gill for the article, Abe the images. When I look at the recent crop (pun intended) of images, I have to say that the first words that springs to mind is ‘hope’. It’s that ability, as you say, to battle against the elements and the leaves and the floor, and still spring to life, year after year. I love the idea of that resilience.
Thank you very much Michael. It was interesting to read what you took from the images and I am glad that you went away with the emotion I was trying to portray. 🙂
Gorgeous images Gill and I love the low viewpoint plus the framing of the snowdrops with the leaves of the woodland floor. Love the mood of the darker images, kind of like a gothic woodland, that is a compliment!!!!!
Thank you very much Jon - I love the idea of a Gothic woodland! It actually does have that vibe about it being right next to the priory and the remains of the old church. 🙂
This set of images are beautiful. I recently came across a rich carpet of snowdrops at Dalkeith Country Park, near Edinburgh, but felt I struggled to really capture the essence of the snowdrops. Your essay has provided me with a lot of inspiration for my next trip into the woods.
Thank you very much for your comments Ashley. I am glad you enjoyed the images and they have inspired you a bit. 🙂
nice movement!
A beautiful set of images Gill – I particularly like the first one, wonderful bokeh! I love environmental portraits of the flowers showing their surroundings and think that for me, whilst the lighter images convey a happy, uplifting mood the darker ones, especially the third image, do convey a sense of the resilience of the flowers as they break through the earth each year in such dark and challenging conditions to give us a glimpse of those blooms of hope on the woodland floor.
I think it’s important that mood is conveyed in a photograph – for me it all comes under the umbrella of a sense of place, the mood, spirit, shape, light or darkness of a place and you have conveyed that here well...lovely work.
Thank you so much Lin. It was good to read your thoughts about the images and I agree with you about the importance of conveying mood - it is what moves us when we view an image.
I really enjoyed your post! I love seeing photos of snowdrops. Your series is absolutely stunning!
Thank you very much Randy, I am glad you enjoyed the images.
I got to say I like the lighter images better. But this might be because I live in Montana. Both are excellent. Maybe if I were in a dark mood, I'd enjoy the dark. 'Berta
Thank you for your comments Roberta, it is good to hear your opinion. Light images have always been my thing, but sometimes it good to convey different moods.
For me I prefer the darker images I think a black background makes the main subject ( which in this case is white) really stand out. These are quite different from your normal style and I really like them.
Thank you very much Philip, I am glad you enjoyed the images. It was challenging to do something different but good fun.
These are really wonderful!! I love the juxtaposition of light and dark, small and fierce, clear-eyed beauty.
Thank you so much Andi, I am glad you enjoyed the images. I also enjoyed playing with the contrast between the lights and darks.
I'm no photographer but am so moved by your snowdrop pictures. Buried under snow for many months now we won't see flowers for at least two months!
Thank you so much for your comments. I am glad you enjoyed the images.
Yes Gill, these are quite a bit different than your familiar style, but I absolutely love these! The contrast of the dark and earthy surroundings with the white snowdrops really speaks of hope and the turning of the seasons!
I recently read an article in Substack by Brittany Polat about wabi sabi and incorporating philosophical ideas in art. That really opened my mind to an aspect of photography I want to learn to embrace. I'm excited to work towards it.
Thank you so much Erik, I am glad you enjoyed them. It was quite a challenge to do something different but I really enjoyed it.
I will have to check out the article you mention. I have read a few things on that subject so I will look forward to seeing how you incorporate them into your work.
Do check out her article, I’d love to hear what you think. She’s @Brittany Polat who writes Stoicism for Humans and the article is Wabi Sabi Stoicism from Feb 21.
Beautiful photos. Although the first thing i thought of when i read you were in the leaf litter was, i hope she’s doing a “tick check”! Even during the winter months in the cold Eastern Canadian winter i worry about ticks!
I like where you focus on the feeling of light and strength or the mood of the snowdrops, rather than the technical aspect of correctness.
I will try that on my next adventure. To have the feeling or mood to capture rather than getting the light just so.
The snow drops are wistful and show their fortitude and beauty.
Thank you for your comments Laura and I am glad you enjoyed the images. I think it is more important to try and convey emotion and mood rather than be too worried about the more technical aspects of photography. I think it is what we engage with in an image.
I hope you enjoy the challenge when you next venture out.