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 had an article published in On Landscape magazine. I had been asked to write something for their regular ‘Endframe’ series which invites photographers to discuss a favourite image by another photographer.
When I was asked to contribute I knew immediately which photographer I wanted to write about but choosing one of her images was much harder. Picking my favourite from so many outstanding compositions was really difficult because so much of her work resonates with me in different ways. In the end I chose Gneiss Boulders from the Isle of Harris by Lizzie Shepherd because there is so much in this image that fits with my own work, the things that I love and the way I see the world.
The first thing that attracted me to this photo was the geology. It takes me back to my childhood and I am immediately transported to the beach standing amongst the boulders listening to the sea. Despite the complexity of the scene and the haphazard nature of the foreground elements the image has an overall simplicity to it which I think helps the viewer appreciate all the different elements that make up this landscape.
The coloured pebbles in the foreground are so well defined that I feel I can reach out and touch them and I can just imaging their coolness and texture beneath my fingers. There is so much that is visually appealing to me in this part of the image, from the soft colour pallet to the shapes and textures of the rocks, that I find it hard to let my eye wander further into the scene. The colours blend so beautifully together and the shape of the bedrock underneath the pebbles leads the eye effortlessly to the edge of the sea.
I love the transition zones, where the hardness of the rocky shore meets the soft texture of the breaking waves followed by the colour transition of the blue sea into the soft grey of the distant mountains. It is the way these layers blend together with subtle colour changes that I find so evocative of the Harris coastline.
On an emotional level this image transports me right back to my childhood. If I had been standing on this beach as a young girl I know I would have picked up a few of these rocks to add to my collection, my Dad would have explained the geology of each one and I would have been fascinated by the whole scene.
I had the pleasure of meeting Lizzie for a 1-2-1 workshop in the Yorkshire Dales back in 2018, a few months after my Dad had died suddenly and at a time when I was struggling with my own photography.
I was really inspired by Lizzie’s work and admired the quiet beauty that she was able to achieve in her images with her use of light and tone. Her work intrigued me and I was interested to spend some time in the landscape with her. Despite having the worst weather imaginable (flat, grey and drizzly) I came away from the workshop with a renewed sense of connection facilitated by Lizzie’s attention to detail particularly around composition, which is definitely something that has stayed with me and influenced my work going forward.
The following images were made when I visited Harris and Lewis back in 2022. There is no doubt my love of geology has played a role in how I constructed these shots, it has focused my attention on the rocks and elevated them to greater prominence. It seems fitting that the Dalmore image earned me a highly commended in this years SLPOTY and a place in the annual book.
How we photograph a scene as a photographer and how we interact with an image as a viewer comes down to observation. Lizzie observed her scene in meticulous detail and then incorporated these observations in a cohesive, fluid composition. It was her skill as a photographer that allowed the mood and emotion of the scene to flow through to me as a viewer and my observations of all the small details that allowed me to connect with that image on an emotional level.
I believe that good observation is the difference between creating an average photograph and one that speaks with more meaning. It is a skill that comes easily to some and is much more difficult for others but I feel that to make good images it is a vital skill that we should all try and prefect.
How and what we observe often comes down to our life experiences and how we see the world as individuals - what is important to us and what we are drawn to.
Developing our observational skills takes practice but it is something we can do whenever we are out in the landscape - we don’t have to have a camera with us. Things to focus on include:
Light - is it harsh, soft, diffused or directional. What colour is it and how does it interact with the elements in the landscape?
Light creates shadows and reflections which in tern create patterns and highlight textures. How do these play out in the landscape?
What colours are there in the landscape, how do these relate to each other? Do they form pleasing combinations and can you use them to inject some emotion in your image?
What details can you find in the landscape? - these can be interesting to focus on in their own right but can often play bigger parts in a more complex landscape image.
When out with the camera explore the landscape meticulously. I like to work in series when I find something intriguing and I feel this exploration over the years has helped me to develop my observational skills.
Observation in photography is always selective after all we choose what to incorporate in an image and what to leave out. A photograph is never a true representation of a scene, it is always personal to the photographer, it is one individuals interpretation of a moment in time.
As photographers we choose what to place in our frame, we choose the composition and the elements that we include and omit. We choose how they relate to each other by our viewpoint and we choose how to render time and light by our shutter speed and exposure. All these choices are based on our observations in the field. But it doesn’t stop there because when we get back to the computer we choose how to represent that image in post processing.
We analyse and interpret our own images in the same way that I did with Lizzie’s image in my Endframe article. We choose what we want to say about the scene by enhancing certain elements, dodging and burning to guide the viewers eye to the areas we feel are important and cropping or cloning to remove anything we find distracting. We might also choose to change the white balance or colour grade our image to enhance an emotional connection we are feeling and wish to portray.
The images above show a RAW and processed file of a shot I took at Rogie falls in the Highlands last year. The RAW file is on the left and my processed file is on the right. Comparing the two you can see the choices I made in post processing, the elements I decided to remove and the colour treatment that I gave the shadows and highlights. These decisions were based on the observations I made in the field together with the elements I felt were important when I looked at the image on the computer. I enhanced the things that I felt were important for my viewer to observe.
I believe observation in photography is a really important skill to develop across three areas :
As a photographer in the field.
As a photographer in post processing
And finally as a viewer of other peoples work - whether that be photography, painting, drawing or any other art form. I believe all interactions can be learning experiences. Looking at another photographer’s work, analysing the image (like I did with Lizzie’s) is a really important habit to get in to. It helps us find the styles and subjects we are drawn to and the reasons why that might be the case.
This week I have been reading ‘The Art of Noticing’ by Rob Walker. It is book to dip in and out of and is full of little bits of wisdom from many different sources, many of which could be applied to photography. There are a couple of points that stand out for me. The first is Robs quote from the book which I think applies so well to photography.
Paying attention, making a habit of noticing, helps cultivate an original perspective, a distinct point of view.
And the second comes from Ernest Hemingway’s thoughts on what makes a good writer.
You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling.
Applying this to photography I believe what Hemingway was saying was that when we notice our surroundings we notice the physical elements around us - the things that are outside of us. But sometimes it is just as important to pay attention to the feelings within us to build up a complete picture of what we are observing. Feelings help us create mood within our photography and this is just as important as all the physical elements.
However we think about observation, it is an essential skill to practice and will lead to more interesting, considered image making.
Thank you very much for reading and until next week enjoy your photography.
Gill
Thanks Gill another great post. I love the geological shots as I studied geology at university so I always like to see those. 😊
As usual Gilly, a really interesting article and full of information and ideas to digest. The images that accompany the article are beautiful.