I am so happy that the creative block is over, and I can finally start to see again.
I was at my desk in the early evening when I saw that the edges of the clouds/fog teetering on the crest of the hills above Waldenburg had started to glow and the trees had an ever so slight shade of white. I quickly got changed, made sure that all my gear was packed and made my way up towards the top of the hill.
My hope was that as the edges of the clouds were glowing, that if I went a bit further up, they’d be just at the right height for a cloud inversion on the other side of the hill in the lowlands towards the Alps.
I was right, but got distracted on the way.
The clouds were just high enough to occasionally overflow into the meadows. I find it fascinating how much clouds act like the sea when in this state, like waves breaking over the sea defences along the coastline, clouds will flow over the tops of the hills and pour across the fields.
The next two images were taken a few minutes and meters apart and show how fast the landscape can change in these conditions, and how important it is to keep an eye on where you've come from as well as where you are going. The first is in the direction that I was heading, the second from whence I came.
The next two images are a continuation of the journey and taken from further up the hill. There are two images but both created from the same file. This one particularly stood out for me, as it demonstrates the importance of composition in telling the story that we want to be told, and proved that I was seeing composition again.
The first is the original shot, a wide angle shot shows the effects of the season on the whole landscape. The mix of subdued colours of the earth with the tips of individual blades of grass covered in frost, and the cold atmosphere of the sky divided by waves of ice ladened freezing mist flowing through the centre coating the trees in hoar frost.
I chose to use a crop to show this as I wanted no change in the the actual image, but to show the power of composition in story telling.
The second, a minimalist image which brings the trees into prominence. The sea of mist moving through the composition removing all other details of the landscape while at the same time adding so much detail and texture to the branches of the trees that it is moving through in the form of frost on the branches.
A purely winters landscape in the middle of an autumnal image.
The composition is what you see, in what you see. A photographer eye can see the details that make up the whole, and is is able to use these to tell a story that others may miss.
It's good to be back. 😉