Autumn Dew
Have you ever walked in the forest and come across something that looks beautiful to the naked eye, take a picture, then come home and find a challenge on how best to present it as a picture? We were walking on a trail in Zion National Park when I spotted some dewdrops on some fallen leaves. This was cropped from the original. Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm at 31mm, 1/180 f5.
posted by Warren T. at 7:49 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Photography is not as easy as it seems. Making good photographs require much thought. I believe many of us have been duped by the camera manufacturers as they make photography look so easy.
OK, getting back to the topic. The problem here is visualization or "seeing a photograph". Ansel Adams wrote about this. But I believe there is more. We try to record what our eyes see as a photograph and capture this with our cameras. Our brains then processes the information and puts together an image. But something is wrong as what we perceived as a beautiful is recorded yet the final product is not as we envisioned it. What you recorded in your photo is more than you wanted. You have the the small branches which are very straight and going in different directions (very strong visually and distracting) and the added color elements (which can add and distract). You need to pay attention to everything in the viewfinder!
Getting around this problem: I would suggest trying to shoot more close-ups to emphasize the positive elements in your photo. This would simplify your images and make the size of elements larger. The photos will have more visual impact.
Another idea is to shoot details or close-ups of a scene and present the images as a series instead of a single image. Another extreme is to alter the scene and remove what you don't want.
Look at a lot of photographs. I have found that browsing the online photo galleries at pbase.com quite interesting.
Great comments, Martin. Actually, my original shot was MUCH more than what I wanted to capture. This cropped version helped for me personally, as I actually want to remember that tangle of branches, and leaves, and color. It represents my memory of the moment, but I can see how someone else may see it differently.
So, it's safe to say that this particular shot didn't work for you on any level?
That's what I was curious about on this one.
As a side note, what does everyone think about altering the scene to create a better shot? I could have easily brushed aside all the branches to just leave the foliage, but my opinion at that moment was that it would then become an unnaturally altered scene.
Thanks,
Warren
I would not say that the photo doesn't work at any level. I like the shape of the leaves, I like the red leaf against the green in the top half of the photo, I like the water droplets on the lower leaf. I like the natural untouched look. But I still have a problem with the lines of the twigs as they are a visual distraction from the other elements.
When looking at scenes in nature, there is a randomness that is in most cases imperfect. Maybe we are expecting too much. I would like to hear what others in the group see in the photo.
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