Hello, I’m Gill and I write a photography blog inspired by the landscapes of Suffolk and beyond. Please subscribe to read more of my writing and visit my website to view my images.
This week I have been paying a lot of attention to mud! Not the most attractive subject for a landscape photographer you might imagine, but living on the east coast where it is abundant I have grown to love it.
When I think of mud I tend to think of the sticky estuarine variety that is uncovered at every low tide. Vast blankets of grey, a uniform monotony broken by twisting channels of water and peppered with the footprints of wading birds.
The beauty of mud is that it can throw up some lovely surprises. It has remarkable reflective qualities and its naturally dull appearance can be transformed by interesting light. It is also soft and malleable and can be sculpted into amazing shapes by the action of the tides.
I have been out with the camera several times this week and mud has played a part in many of my shots, first on the River Deben where the light was instrumental in making the mud interesting but also on the coast where I have been photographing the mudstone formations that are exposed at low tide.
There is a point to this rambling about mud and that is that we are surrounded by elements that might not seem interesting at first glance, but if we pay them some attention and observe them for a while our perception often changes. And that is what my photography has been about this week - making the mundane interesting.
Finding beauty in something that may be considered ugly.
Mud is not beautiful, it has some interesting qualities, but on its own I don’t feel that it is traditionally attractive. However it can be transformed by the things that surround it or interact with it. These places, where different elements meet, are transition zones and it is these that can be interesting for photography.
Take this image as an example.
This is one of my favourite images from this week and I like it because it has several zones of transition. Firstly the grooved mud has some lovely shadow areas which really enhance the shapes of the channels. The shingle that sits on top of the mud gives a pleasing contrast in texture and colour and my choice of a 30 second exposure has smoothed out the water making the foreground really stand out from the smoother background. The mud on its own is interesting but it is the presence of the other elements that really makes a captivating image.
I also experimented with some black and white versions of the same landscape. These may lack the colour contrast of the first image but I do feel the simplified mono treatment enhances the graphic nature of the scene.
The next image was taken at sunrise on the River Deben.
Here I was shooting at low water which had uncovered large banks of estuarine mud. In places the mud had been eroded into shallow channels by the action of the receding tide. The edges of the channels were textured with diagonal lines which looked a bit like the shading you might create in a pencil sketch. The lines on their own caught my attention but it was the presence of the reflected light and the darker shadows that really made the mud feel interesting. On its own the river scene seemed a little dull but by including the mud I felt the image was much more successful.
Similarly the next image also features a layer of mudstone, but it is the interaction of the water that makes the scene interesting.
This stretch of coastline is covered with large areas of mudstone running in slab like structures across the beach. The structures have edges and hollows which disturb the moving water and create lines and patterns when using a 1 or 2 second exposure. By positioning myself at the end of one of these edges I could use the line of breaking water in my composition to lead the eye into the image.
The mudstone on this part of the coast is very textured and uniformly grey but by using the moving water to create patterns and textures the foreground is transformed. For me this shot only works with the presence of water, at low tide I find the compositions much too busy.
How to make the mundane interesting
I think the very act of paying attention to something can turn a seemingly mundane element into an interesting one. I challenged myself to photograph mud this week and I think by focusing on the transition zones (shingle, water, reflected light and shadow) surrounding the mud I have come up with some images I enjoy.
Objects are only mundane when we think we know everything about them. I challenge you to find something familiar and ordinary and spend some time photographing the aspects of it you find most appealing.
Ask yourself what is interesting about it. What aspects are attractive, what can you do to bring them alive in an image.
Is the light interesting? What viewpoint would give the most impact? What shutter speed is most complimentary? Does the subject become more interesting if you remove the context and introduce an element of ambiguity?
How does the light interact with your subject? Are the areas of shadow and light attractive? Do they help make the textures more interesting?
Think about how you might process your image to enhance all the interesting things you have observed.
Finally if you are interested in seeing the world in this way I would recommend watching some videos from Simon Booth. Simon is a nature photographer who has a fantastic ability to make beautiful images from seemingly mundane natural subjects.
When I go out to photograph landscapes I am not looking to record just what is there I am looking to convey a mood and emotion in my work - to romanticise the landscape a little and show the beauty in what I have seen. I will leave you with the following quote.
To romanticize the world is to make us aware of the magic, mystery and wonder of the world; it is to educate the senses to see the ordinary as extraordinary, the familiar as strange, the mundane as sacred, the finite as infinite.
Novalis
Thank you very much for reading and until next time, enjoy your photography.
Gill
An interesting post Gill - I hadn't come across the term mudstone before. We have similar formations on the south east coast that I've always considered as rock...now I know what it is! I'd not come across Simon Booth before - I like his approach and his latest video is an excellent example of what you talk about here so thank you .
Beautiful photos and a great read.