A lonesome pine is a favourite subject for photographers, and I failed to resist the temptation when I spotted one within shooting distance. For a change I didn't make a couple of snaps and move on, I actually had a close look at my first frames and the scene before me. That made me realise there was a gap in the distant plantation into which I could fit the main tree's trunk. It took a bit of manoeuvring to line things up as I was on the wrong side of a stone wall. I actually used the wall to brace the camera as I framed the shot using the flippy screen. Not a dramatically impressive picture. If it had been I might well have deleted it!
The accepted wisdom for landscapery is early and late to get a low angle from teh sun's rays. In winter the sun is always fairly low in the sky. But most landscapers don't like the muted hues of the English winter so they stay at home fiddling with their files from summer. Fools.
Then again most landscapers don't photograph the remains of tree felling. Looking into the low sun through a misty haze has muted the palette. It also made for a tricky file to process, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Again I made more framing choices than I often do, including portrait orientations and some with a tree stump for foreground interest. Too easy. I settled for the boring composition. This is one of those pictures which works better on a larger scale where the detail of teh brash and the tree guards are more obvious.
An hour roaming the heather was enough and I went in search of sheep. They proved elusive. I suppose I ought to plan thing more instead of wandering in hope. Whenever I spy moles hung on barbed wire I try to stop and take some pictures.I can't explain this any more than I can explain why I photography wheelie bins!
Maybe it was the lack of subjects today that made me spend more time than is my habit on each one. I spent a good few minutes trying different framings of the moles, trying not only different positions and focal lengths, but different lenses, before I got bored. That's always how things end for me. hen boredom sets in rather than having reached a successful conclusion...
Time was getting on and the light looked like it wouldn't improve when I gave up for the day. Then I spotted some sheep and rather than drive on by I pulled over into a convenient gateway. Yet again I spent some time, even retracing my steps, trying to get a decent picture or two. The light was actually getting a bit brighter too. The pictures I'd imagined didn't materialise. Sheep never position themselves just where you'd like them. I made a few snaps (including one bum shot) before attempting a sheepscape or two.
Backlit mist with lines of walls and trees always have potential, in colour or monochrome. It's a case of trying different framings and hoping the sheep play ball. Which they rarely do.
Then play with the files to bring out just enough detail in the lighter areas without overdoing the contrast so the misty effect is retained. One of the few things I remember being taught at art school is how distance makes colours paler and bluer. This is called aerial perspective.Boost the contrast to give the picture the much valued visual impact, to make it 'stunning', and it looks like it was taken on a less misty day. Yet it was probably the mist which caught the photographer's eye in teh first place.
Another thing I was taught is that reflections are darker than the thing reflected. When some people process their reflection photographs they lift the darker tones (including those in the reflection) because they want to retain 'shadow detail' and the pictures end up looking unnatural. But I guess subtle pictures don't get so many 'like's from people swiping on their phones.
* The song title is actually 'Yorkshire landscape', unfortunately...
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