I have finally gotten around to a semi-regular schedule of hiking, having gone 3 of the last 4 weekends. I would go this weekend as well except I have a wedding.
Obviously, hiking gives me a good chance to not only photograph, but also work on seeing scenes that in all honesty look otherwise rather basic and wondering whether there is a photo there or not. Things like noticing the light, the shadows, and perhaps considering how a bit more contrast might make a difference.
This is very much the case in this photo. In color, this is a fairly bland photo. The sky is all white and blown out, the trees diminished by the expanse of grass in the foreground, and only a small bit of visible shadows. But the play of light was interesting, if not dramatic, in person.
My hope was that by converting to black and white and then increasing contrast, I could make the shadows really jump out, and silhouetting that tree on the left would really change the mood.
In this case, I was very much “seeing” in black and white, and while I used the computer to add contrast, this isn’t any different than what I might have done in a traditional darkroom.
Did you use a fisheye lens? There’s a curvey look to the photo. That’s a good skill to cultivate – “finding” the photo in an otherwise ordinary scene.
No, it’s a “standard” zoom (meaning it’s kind of a mid-range, not too wide, not too long lens), though I think at its widest setting, where there is a bit of distortion. But a fisheye would have bent the trees at the top pretty severely – the straight one that is all dark would have curved.
I’m a believer that there is a photo around wherever one is located. Sometimes it’s one that might not appeal to everyone (street photography, for instance), but it’s there somewhere. Thanks for looking 🙂