Welcome to the new project which my long-suffering friend Arthur and I intend to turn into a photo book in the future. I have no idea what he has written, we have not discussed the photo in question so as not to influence each other.
There is often an idea about photographers not wanting to, or being able to, put words to their images, this was covered most recently on the UN of Photography podcast. I generally don’t like explaining my images; in a way, if I have to explain them, I have failed as a photographer. On the other hand, I feel projects do need explaining. However, I think with social media things have changed and it is possible to give a little insight into what a photo means to you, or provide some anecdote related to the taking of the photo (I have started doing this on my Tumblr account).
Anyway, on to today’s photo, which was taken on 1st November 2011.
I don’t remember which direction I was travelling. I have the feeling I had turned round, as I often do, to see if there was something worth photographing looking back in the direction I had come from (never forget to look behind you, you might find something better – like the idea of sitting with your back to the view). It was a coolish morning and a little misty, at this point along the track the canes had overgrown to touch the trees on the other side of the track and it looked like the end of a tunnel, and there was light at the end of the tunnel! It had rained the day before and there was a puddle which helps to provide a little more interest at the bottom of the photo. The subdued colours also appeal to me, especially the greens of the trees and the brown of the track. The mist helps to soften the brightness, the saturation of the vegetation in the distance and it also adds a slightly tropical feel to the image (would you think this is Spain?). The trees and canes provide more than just a frame for the shot, they give depth and feeling as well.
Just a little technical information. The camera I used was a Canon 60D (since traded in for a Fuji X-T1) and an 18-55mm kit lens (which came with my 450D), a good lens is important but you can still capture great images with a basic lens (don’t let GAS – gear acquisition syndrome – hold you back!). The aperture was f7.1 and a shutter speed of 1/50, which with the focal length of 55mm was just about fast enough to avoid camera shake. The image was taken in RAW format so I would have more scope if I needed to alter things in processing.
I wasn’t sure until I got home that the image was as good as I wanted, what I had seen in my mind’s eye, because looking on the back of the camera you can be fooled into thinking that in a good image is bad or a bad image is good – always check on a bigger screen.
