Assignment 1 (Final) - Seasons

 

Requirement

12 images that explore how the landscape changes across the seasons and how you react to these changes.





Winter

Bushy Park, December
People congregating around the oak tree hints at a pagan ritual,
whilst the lifting fog under the rising sun conveys the cold and greyness of winter.

Bushy Park, January
Breath-taking cold and breath-taking blues and violets of a winter
dawn sky reflected on the surface of the water.
The curve of the bank carries the eye around the horizon
 

Bushy Park, February
Frosted reeds emerge from the mist. Winter land
so de-saturated of colour the image could
be black and white

Spring

Charlton, Wiltshire
Rapeseed oil flowers of spring brighten the
landscape such that even the pylons looks almost
beautiful 

Apple Blossom
The fleeting life of the apple blossom, from bud
to flower to decay within 10 days, then gone for
another year. This image is a blend of 2 photographs of
the same branch 2 days apart in late April

Bluebells in Micheldever Woods in May
Floor of wood carpeted with bluebells, like many
of the striking colours of spring, they last only for a
short time. 

Summer

Wheatfield, Blackdown Hills, Somerset
Spiky field of wheat, the full leaf on the row of trees
and the hazy light on the horizon

 

Beach at Lyme Regis in August
Open sky over my little space on this crowded beach.
Enough sky to keep this as a landscape, especially
due to the pattern of the clouds taking the eye away from
the holiday makers.

 

Dunkeswell Airfield, Devon after a summer rainstorm
Retreating shower cloud and glistening tarmac
 

Autumn

Winkworth Arboretum, Surrey
Wind and light flowing through the tree almost like
a rich red liquid pouring through the branches.
Inspired by Eliot Porter
Shot by panning the camera to blur the scene detail sufficiently
to bring out the spectacular reds of the leaves
without losing the sense altogether that we are looking at a tree.

Pumpkins for sale.
The vegetables of autumn, with their associations with Halloween and warm
soup as the days grow colder.
The pumpkins reminded me of speaking to
an audience which stares back at me, something which I hope holds
the eye slightly longer on the image.
 

Reflection in the surface of Basingstoke Canal
The water throws up impressions of the colours and
light of early autumn, when some leaves have turned
yellow, others still remain green



Assignment 1 - Seasons (Winter)

Requirement

12 photographs

Purpose         

To explore how the landscape changes across the seasons and how you react to these changes.

Exercise instructions

• Consider light, colour, detail and the broader landscape
• Shoot 12 images that convey your personal response to the season
•  Repeat this assignment 3 times more, once in each season by visiting the same general location at least once during the season. 
• Hold these additional photos until the end of the course. 
• Then select 3 photos which best reflect the feel of each season. 
• The aim is to end up with 12 images (3 x 4 seasons). 
• This is in addition to project 15 (also to be included in the final portfolio (1 shot of the same scene x 4 seasons).
• Evaluate the effectiveness of each shot in providing depth and drawing the eye into the frame.

Images and Review

Seasons 

Winter

Hard frost, 
Bushy Park

Eerie gathering in the fog, 
Bushy Park

Winter dawn, 
Bushy Park

Spring

Spring light and shadow,
Southbank, London (of all places)

Bluebell Wood,
Micheldever

Oilseed rape field
Chirton, Wiltshire

Summer

Poppy field
Upavon, Wiltshire

Summer rain
Dunkeswell Airport, Somerset

Camped on the beach
Sidmouth, Devon

Autumn

Dying and dead
Basingstoke Canal

Winter Assignment

This assignment was undertaken in 2 parts. Images 1 to 6 were taken in the winter of 2011/12, mostly in Bushy Park, Kingston-on-Thames. Images 7 to 12 were shot in Switzerland in the winter of 2009/10. 

The first 6 images show trees in the winter light and weather of southern England, the second 6 images the snow that dominates the Swiss winter. 

This division reflects my personal history of this course. I started when living in Switzerland, had to suspend it for a year, then returned to pick the threads in November 2011.


Tutor's conclusion (Jesse Alexander)
I instantly ‘get’ what [these pictures] are about (winter), but the reading is too instantaneous, and therefore empty.


A little bit of a step back from your first submission (Assignment 2) ... not in terms of image quality but in your confidence to articulate your own perspective. 

You could market these pictures successfully, but, with the exception of the shot of the tree and the girl, they have none of the critical, personal voice of that first body of work. 

I am sure this is down to you just losing your momentum a bit during deferral, so please don’t be put off by these remarks. 

By Level 2, we do hope that you will have technical competence, which you certainly have, to say the least, but stepping up and putting your point of view across in your work is
where we hope you will really be focusing on now.

My response

On reflection, I agree with your observation that, since the last assignment, whilst I have improved technically, I am going  backwards in developing personal style and voice.  It has taken me a few days to absorb this feedback.

Here's why I am advancing technically, but regressing in communication:

• Personal voice comes from emotional connection with the subject. This connection comes with close contact. The landscape that surrounds me now, as opposed to my time in Switzerland,the M25 ring around London, the the UK's most congested urban environment.  Nearby 'landscape' is mostly managed space for mass recreation or to reduce the oppression for residents of bricks, tarmac, cement and cars. I can find plenty to say about that sort of landscape but this lies out of course scope.
• So, making contact with in-scope landscape requires a decision where to go, time on the road to get there, confirming subject interest, abandoning the idea if no interest, visiting the location again if a prospect and waiting for light. This has to be found from a working life of  2.5 days of time spread over 4 days per week, and other personal commitments.
• Furthermore, the course's projects are strongly technical exercises: find a scene with..., in such and such conditions ..., take x number of shots with your camera at these settings...tell us what you think. (Useful for technical improvement and I seem to be benefitting).

Still, not be defeated by this challenge, I am exploring for my next assignment the theme of water interacting with man-made structures within a 10 mile radius of home. I am taking as my inspiration for this the work of Toshio Shibata, on whose work I have posted a page on my blog. 

I will fill in the gaps in project work between assignments 1 and 3 as quickly as possible and write them up in sequence. However, I will spend less time on honing my technique by not re-doing the projects once results are 'good enough' for purpose.

1. A king of a tree, standing tall in the finery of its winter branches

Bushy Park 

Exception to comment about lack of individuality... a plain, English grey sky behind a cold, leafless oak tree in front of a smearing of snow – and most importantly, a modest yet powerful splash of colour which brings the scene to life, showing there is warmth amidst this bleakness. 


2. Trees seemingly drawing strength from infrequently bright winter sky

Woodland at Virginia Water Lake

3.  Trees emerging from the misty twilight of a winter dawn  

Bushy Park

Stunning ... shows dedication to shoot this place at such a perfect time of day.

4.  Trees enduring the frost and fog   

Bushy Park

5.  Tree decorating the still surface of its neighbouring stream

Bushy Park

6.  Tree drawing a crowd in the eerie gloom

Bushy Park

Wonderful atmosphere ... quite eerie

7.  Skiers take on the challenge of the high Alps  

Crap Sogn Gion above Flims (2,400 metres)

Calendar material for the Swiss tourist office?

8.  Sunset arrives at the out of season swimming pool

Lake Cauma

Good observation, but .... too preoccupied with the composition of the shot,
treating it as an almost abstract element  ... more interesting to see this within the
broader context of the landscape.

9.  Weekenders take the winter air at the local ice rink

Dolder ice rink

More Swiss tourist office calendar material?

10.  Forest lies silent after a blizzard 

Forest at Uetliberg

11.  Village church absorbs the winter sun

St Remigius Church, Falera

Postcard material?

12.  The water shines with the reflection of its surroundings

Lake Cauma

Postcard material?