Summer Harvest - Photography Week 35 (2016)

The summer harvest continues in the local area and the evening light draws out the golden straw colour in this set of images from fields near Robin Hood Hill in Nottinghamshire:

Last week I posted some abstract images of the harvest along the Southwell Trail. This week the farmers have moved to the next field which includes one of my favourite local trees. Over years I have captured this ash tree in different seasons as part of a broader project to document aspects of the Southwell Trail and the local area:

Adding to the Southwell Trail collection is this selection of images. Included are compositions which try to emphasize the shape of the trees along the path, backlighting on leaves and ferns, and then, perhaps less attractively, graffiti on one of the brick bridges over the trail:

River Trent - Photography Week 35 (2016)

Photographing landscapes on the River Trent* has never been particularly easy. Finding access points with views up and down the river has generally been the challenge. Much of the bank and pathways are tree-lined which obscures the camera's view and where it is more open the compositions seem less interesting.

The lack of obvious possibilities often relegates the Trent down the order of photographic venues and I wasn't surprised that it had been more than a year in between visits. In January 2015, I had concentrated on the industrial landscape around Newark-on-Trent - a set of images that I had largely forgotten about - and this time I was looking for something more picturesque. 

I found one view near Gunthorpe which looked interesting and rather than seeking out others I decided to set up and wait for the light. Whilst waiting, a couple of swans glided by stopping long enough to be included in the composition:

Less successful was this shot from the same vantage point:

These are a selection of the images from January 2015 including the power station at Staythorpe, the sugar factory at Newark-on-Trent, and winter scenes of the River Trent: 

Reflections in the river: tree reflections from this summer, another from winter 2015, and the lastly reflections from the wake of a passing boat:

*The River Trent is the third longest river in the UK at 185 miles from its source on Biddulph Moor in Staffordshire to the Humber on the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire border. When I refer to the River Trent I mean a section which broadly runs northeast from the City of Nottingham to Newark-on-Trent.

Higger Tor - Photography Week 35 (2016)

Trying something new and experimenting with photography subjects is a real challenge. It involves stepping outside of the photographic comfort zone and being prepared to make mistakes. The easier option is to repeat compositions that are familiar and, whilst this might provide pleasant shots, it doesn't push any boundaries.

Over the years I have taken many photographs from Higger Tor in the Peak District. It is easy to access with great views in all directions but on this occasion I set out to get a different perspective on the location. Instead of using the gritstone rocks as a foreground compositional aid, I wanted to make gritstone the subject of the photographs.

Deciding how much context to include in the images was one of the main challenges. I started by including elements of heather and grass before getting closer to the subject and creating more abstract compositions. I was aided on the day by clear blue skies which had the advantage of removing any distracting details. At first I tried to avoid strong shadows but then started using them to construct bolder compositions:
 

 

 

 

 

Adding a greater level of context moved the compositions away from abstract and more towards an intimate landscape - but too much context and I was left with a simple record or portrait shot of a rock (even if it was a fine rock!):

Without strong shadows the results were more subtle:

 

 

 

 

I converted a few of the compositions to black and white:

 

 

 

Two shots which emphasized the texture of gritstone:

 

Finally, just  for good measure, some traditional golden hour landscapes:

 

Land and Sky - Photography Week 34 (2016)

Land and sky are two panels of images taken on a summer's evening in the East Midlands.

The first set concentrates of the lines created shortly after the harvest has taken place (the farmers were still working in the field as I took these shots). I have removed some of the contrast to soften the finish and give a more abstract feel to the final results:

The second set looks up to the sky and the sunset afterglow colours: Again, I have reduced the contrast in order to emphasize the pastel colours: