Inspiration
Jasper Goodall
https://www.jaspergoodall.com/works#/ancients
The collections from Jasper Goodall; Nightscape and Ancients are incredible.
Unlike Goodall, I have mostly done day photography when it comes to trees. I captured one image called, Old Knobbley, on my most recent project and found it a struggle. The settings are not something that comes naturally to me and I found myself using flash to see if I could improve the shot as I was unsure how to capture a less noisy shot by upping my iso. I am definitely not going to avoid night photography with trees, I have now seen the challenge and it’s on. The only way I can apply images of trees in the dark within my gallery in the future is by going out and practising, that simple! One problem is I’m actually scared of the dark, I guess if and when I overcome that, it’s one step closer to reaching my goal.
Goodall captures images that make your heart sing, the way he uses light to give depth to a photograph gives magic to his images. Finally found someone who inspires me and would love to be as creative as he is one day.
Tony Howell
https://www.tonyhowell.co.uk/Tree-Photos-at-Night.htm
The collection from Tony Howell; Tree Photography at Night I find to be atmospheric.
I feel the one photograph he took in Loch Lomond at sunset has similarities to my photograph of Llanberis was taken at sunrise. It would be interesting to capture Llanberis at sunset to see whether I could get a similar result.
Analysing the work from Howell: The colours are very vibrant, no reflection on the Loch, very little if no shadowing and the sky seems to be streamlined with no definition in the cloud. In comparison, my work has subtler colours, heavy on the shadowing and more definition with the clouds. When capturing my images in this instance I would change my settings of iso, aperture and shutter speed according to the available light at the time. I felt due to the location the shadowing spoilt my overall image in the end, to eliminate this I know I will have to shoot more to learn more about how to work around this. With regards to the clouds captured in my photograph, I have found that whenever I do any landscape work if the sun is bright I have a lot of burnt-out issues around those areas. I am learning more camera and processing techniques to get a better final result.
I am not the type of photographer who enhances and chooses to go heavy on the vibrance and or saturation, using natural colours is where I really like to stay. There was one thing which I can say I am happy with about the position of my tree, it is in the centre of the vee. In the photograph of Howells and mine, I believe the positioning of both trees work better if in the centre of the vee having the sunrise or sunset behind it. I cannot be sure but in both instances, I would guess that like me Howell used a tripod along with suitable settings on his camera. I will take on board what I have seen and hope to improve my work accordingly.
Keith Dotson
https://keithdotson.com/collections/trees-and-branches
Keith Dotson’s collection; Trees and Branches in black and white are more abstract than the previous photographer.
I feel some of the work is slightly more contrasty than I like, however, the branches with entwining ivy brings depth to the image. It seems this collection has been mostly taken during the day. I cannot be sure of whether the images were shot on film or digital.
Unfortunately in this current project, trees, I have not produced any black and white images. This is not to say I did not consider it because I did. I did not believe it was something that would work well in this project and for this reason, I chose to do it in colour. Viewing Dotson’s work I am unsure whether he wants a more contrasty feel to his images. Some of them seemed to be washed out and then some the opposite, leaving no consistency. This could be done on purpose or to the way he feels the viewer will like them.
If you are from a printing background, like me, I guess you would notice it more. I do however love the way Dotson has got a variety of different angles including abstract within his tree collection, there are also shots both close up and further away. This has been something I have been doing within my photography. When I work close up my images have more of a depth and texture to them, like Dotsons. Film generally has a more noticeable grain to it when using a scanner before processing. As much as I love digital when taking photographs of trees I find film gives more of a wow factor and techniques can be used like dodging and burning. If Dotson was using a more traditional method to print within a dark room, this may reduce the contrast within some of his images.
Jess Lee
https://www.jessleephotos.com/gallery/forest-beautiful-trees-photography/
The collection from Jess Lee; For the Love of Trees is so beautifully composed, having vibrant colours and detail, you get drawn into the photograph.
When looking at the way they are on the page, I believe his more current work is at the top. The beginnings with relatively basic shots of the trees showing their trunks with not bokeh techniques and then you see a sudden change. The composition, reflections, depth, slow shutter speed, angles, movement and parallel lines appear. When analysing his work against mine there is no comparison. I see where am I at this moment in time and it’s like I’m at the beginning of Lees’s journey. I agree that my images definitely are very subtle and should be more vibrant when doing autumn colours like the autumn fall. The use of light in Lees’s work is incredible along with god-like beams of light that shine from the top and corners of the photographs he takes.
The shadowing does not consume and affect underneath the canopies of the trees he shoots, that is something I have struggled to do myself, I see myself trying to find different techniques to eradicate this when taking my photographs. The only thing I have noticed about his work is that Lee strives for perfection from the vibrant colour palette used on every image through to straight roads aligned with trees on either side. If nature was perfect, wouldn’t the world be a boring place I feel Lee gives the viewer what they are looking for visually, in comparison I will use natural colours and will see if the photograph is more suited for a road not being slap bang central in the middle of the picture?
Is Lees’s work like a painting from impressionism? Well, I believe so, yes. The Use of light, colour, techniques and composition is just what you would expect from a painter. I love the fact Lee has bought impressionism into his photography, something I was hoping to do. He has inspired me to follow him in his plight to do that. Let’s hope like Lee I create images that are abstract, simplistic and effective in the future.
Joel Robison
https://www.joelrobison.com/
The collection from Joel Robinson; Gallery Collection. I thought I would put this photographer as a negative.
The gallery on his website is definitely not my cup of tea, the work seems too far fetched. I like to produce work myself that is real and this just not does seem the case. The colours seem dull and drab, like an over the top matt. It’s a marmite collection of photographs and I am not convinced, sorry.