This log washed up on the beach like a carcass of some big animal. It would have been good to visit this area during the ‘bomb cyclone’ as it was described. Big seas of course but damaging winds. And with constant rain photography becomes a nightmare. Next best thing - photograph what turns up on the beaches. An interesting project if time permits.
The Shape of things
Coastal areas provide an almost infinite array of designs and features. Photographers often spend a lot of money on travel and capturing scenes that can’t be found in their own neighbourhood. I’m fortunate to live not far from the coast. The cliffs and shores of these beaches offer up plenty of opportunities over the seasons to capture images or textures of an abstract nature.
a highlight
I enjoy the sometimes random nature of photography. The unplanned elements can be a nice surprise. In an effort to incorporate a little more exercise into my day I took a walk around the dam when the rain eased up. Still overcast, the sun forced it’s way through the clouds just enough to not to make this a high contrast image but at the same time providing a counterpoint to the darker subtle tones..
Close to shore
A study of nature in it’s variety of forms can lead to endless explorations of the imagination. It seemed for a while I was endlessly ‘seeing things’ in rock formations. It’s a play in dimensionality if there is such a word. Perspectives become very fluid and elastic. Shape combines with texture which adds to the feel. This could be a photo shot from above (which it isn’t).
Less ambiguous is this beach image. It belongs to a series of underexposed photos that came about through chance. As it turns out the B&W conversions are quite striking and this simple image has far more impact than it’s correctly exposed colour counterpart.
Another textural variant. Water weeds in a creek.
Back on land for a moment… a leaf that escaped from the group. One sits on the surface, the others are stains on concrete - sun does the rest of the work.
Combination of factors
Although this image looks OK in B&W, it has more appeal for me with the combination of darker tones and transitions. The deep green of the water and ‘blonde’ grass with the embedded brown ferns and exposed roots on the bank make for a nicely detailed image. There is extra texture from the light diffraction in the water adding more dimensionality. The muted lighting suggests it was somewhat overcast providing a more rich colouration and evenness to the tones.
Smaller things
Back in 2012 BC (before crowds) on my first and only visit to Iceland, I got to drive around the island at a reasonably leisurely pace stopping whenever I felt the need or just to observe things on a smaller scale. Photographically oriented tourists shying away from crowds and fixed bus stops can take in some quiet reflective moments. Four swans in a minimalist landscape provided me that opportunity.
There wasn’t a lot of wildlife to be encountered, at least while I circumnavigated the country. What does strike you though is how such a small island can convey a sense of vastness. No doubt the open vistas are accentuated by the almost complete absence of trees, but Iceland also has huge mountain and hill slopes throughout it’s length and breadth.