A Different Point of View and Thoughts for the New Year....

There is a path from the Southwell Trail that crosses two fields and stops by a gate with restricted public access. Being aware of this I rarely walk the path - it seems too short a walk before having to turnaround and walk back.

In early autumn, however, I decided to use this path to get closer to a group of trees where the leaves had started to change colour. In doing so, I gained a new point of view on a very familiar landscape. It was like changing seats in the living room or sitting on the opposite side of the table where the small change in angle makes everything look fresh and slightly different.

With the New Year just a few days away I returned to the new view and made the following photograph, which I later converted to black and white. Looking at this image and considering the forth coming year and the inevitable resolutions, I realised that new experiences, both photographic and more generally in life, can be gained from something as simple as stepping to one side and gaining a fresh perspective, it doesn't always have to be revolutionary to have impact:

I also produced a colour version of the same scene:

The next photograph was my first take on the scene in early autumn which I didn't get quite right - I don't like the line of the pylons moving into the distance and prefer the previous compositions. Of course, I fully accept that any photograph with pylons in might not appeal to everyone but over time I have come to accept them as a feature of the local landscape: 

These are a group of trees that I photograph regularly from a distance on the Southwell Trail. The path across the fields allows me to get much closer and the first image was taken in early autumn, the second in mid autumn, and the third at the start of winter:

I particularly liked the following autumn scenes. The second and third images show the trees that line the Southwell Trail - the colours have a greater impact when viewed from the field which is something I will remember for next year:

Finally, I can see the following stack of straw bales in the distance from the Southwell Trail. Up close, the fine winter sunlight really emphasized the colours and textures. The shadow on the stack comes from a characterful oak tree which is show in the last photograph: