Palatlakaha Dawn

[RSL]

Unlike street photography, landscape photography is pretty much the same thing over and over and over again: distant hills with shifting sunlight on them, a distant sunrise or sunset over the plains or the water or mountains. Because of coronavirus my landscape is pretty much confined to my little river. So here it is again.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

It is a lovely little river.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Unlike street photography, landscape photography is pretty much the same thing over and over and over again: distant hills with shifting sunlight on them, a distant sunrise or sunset over the plains or the water or mountains. Because of coronavirus my landscape is pretty much confined to my little river. So here it is again.

Russ, will you do me a favour?

Next time you are standing in this exact same location for your early morning walk and as you say you often have to do these days because of the virus, then could you do me a favour and take the same scene, but using this as your framing instead - see image below. Now before we go down the cropping argument rabbit hole, can I first say that I have only cropped your image as a way to show you what I am suggesting you use as the "full framing" for the shot and have not cropped it for any other reason - and as you say, if you are stuck with the same view time after time after time because of the virus and as we all have been, then the only thing you can really change is your composition 

So will you do that for me and show it here???

Dave

[RSL]

Sure. I'll try it Dave. But I'm sure you understand the light may not be exactly the same, and unless I carry a print with me I won't be able to frame exactly as you've cropped it. This morning the sun was out and then in, and I caught this one during an out, though the sun was something less than full bright. Should be close, though if there's sun. On the other hand, there's enough detail in this picture that a crop probably would do the job unless you're planning on very large displays or prints. As far as composition is concerned, I've often re-shot something along the river with a different composition. I suspect you're up to something. I guess I'll find out what it is if I can make the shot you're looking for. We'll see.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

As far as composition is concerned, I've often re-shot something along the river with a different composition. I suspect you're up to something. I guess I'll find out what it is if I can make the shot you're looking for. We'll see.

No not up to something really, just when I look at your series of local shots, which I believe we can now call a series as you have shot quite a few in this style over the last few months, then I always find myself thinking why doesn't Russ try to frame out the sky if it is too bright and which is therefore always going to blow out some upper parts of the shot, as the light often seems to be very bright, contrasty and harsh in your neck of the woods and which you cannot do anything about of course, other than wait for a storm to pass by or something? So I thought why not make a suggestion to you to try shooting only the lower half of this type of shot (as per my crop suggestion, but as a full frame if you know what I mean), as this would then make this type of foliage and water reflection type of shot a lot more mysterious and intriguing to me, as well as also filling the frame with a more abstracted study of the detail set against a lovely mirror reflection in the water, but without so much of the harsh light burning through the canopy of the trees.

I also like to fill the frame like (dare I say it) some painters would do and paint solid detail all the way across to the four edges of the frame if I can, as this can sometimes work very well and give the image a 'painterly' look. But anyway, it is what I would be trying given your situation and yes it might not work at all, but hey, why not give it a try, especially if you are becoming less enthused by your enforced and limited subject matter and who knows, there might just be a pleasant surprise waiting for you to discover 

Dave

[RSL]

Thanks, Dave. That’s a fair explanation of what you’re after. But check the picture again. Sometimes I include chunks of sky, but there’s no sky in this one. There’s light from the sun, which is hitting the far shore and which has just popped over the horizon and through the trees behind me. I have a wealth of pictures of foregrounds: trunks, knees and water, but I think the background in this one is an important contrast to the foreground. I have plenty of foreground pictures and plenty of background pictures, but I think the best balance comes from a combination of the two. As far as filling the frame is concerned, where in this picture is the frame empty?

By the way, I tried to make a picture of the lower part of this this morning when I was out, but the light wasn’t the same. In fact, it may never be the same again. I’ll check again when I go out.   

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

As far as filling the frame is concerned, where in this picture is the frame empty?

Sorry Russ, I suppose I didn't explain that very well did I, but what I actually meant was to fill the frame with even light, or at least as even as you can make it given your location, so nothing is too bright and nothing is too dark and as I say like a painter would probably try to do, whereby they cannot add physical light or dark into their work as we can, but only lighter or darker colours, even though we would then perceive that as being light and dark, because that is what I brains tell us we are seeing - I suppose what I am really getting at here, is by eliminating the brighter upper part of the scene and going for an area where the light is more even, you could then try to use colour as your contrast, rather than the harshness of the light you seem to have to work with on most occasions living in Florida.

Dave

[RSL]

Hi David, I think this is about as close to what you wanted to see as I'm going to be able to get. Conditions, especially the vegetation and the light change daily.

Is it better than the original, showing the far shore? That's a matter of opinion, and my opinion is that it isn't. You're welcome to your own opinion, of course. That's what happens with any art.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Both are nice, but comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Hi David, I think this is about as close to what you wanted to see as I'm going to be able to get. Conditions, especially the vegetation and the light change daily.

Is it better than the original, showing the far shore? That's a matter of opinion, and my opinion is that it isn't. You're welcome to your own opinion, of course. That's what happens with any art.

Well for me, yes I do prefer this new close in version, but what the heck, isn't it good to just try something different every now and then, just to get the old creative juices flowing in a different direction once in a while? But I would also think that now you have tried this for me and even if you don't think it was a success on this occasion, I imagine you will at least carry the idea around with you for a little while and you never know, one day it might just be the right idea for a particular moment at a particular scene.

Anyway, thanks for trying this for me Russ 

Dave

[RSL]

Hi Dave,
Actually, I shoot plenty of “closed in” stuff. Check “Limpkin in a Tree.” True, there are two places where the sky shows through, but they’re closed by the rest of the picture. “Dawn Colors” is completely enclosed, as is Birdhouse, Overcast,” as is “Trunk, Moss,” as is “Camera Drawing,” as is “Sunrise, Tree, Moss,” as is “Lawn Party,” to name just the ones accessible from the current Landscape Showcase page. In fact, I suspect I’d have to go back to last fall to find pictures that include the sky. I any case, I shoot what appeals to me.   

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

...I any case, I shoot what appeals to me.   

Which leads us to what I think is probably the most important rule of photography - just enjoy yourself 

Dave

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Which leads us to what I think is probably the most important rule of photography - just enjoy yourself 

Dave

Amen to that!

[RSL]

+1