fbpx

Finding the abstract in the ordinary

Tripping and almost falling while looking for good photographic view points is one of my strong suits! When I stumbled across this scene in Greenfield NH I knew the possibilities were outstanding. The obvious choice is to shoot the wide scene with all the colors surrounding the covered bridge. Last week a friend and I were up in southern New Hampshire and were faced with just such a shot. Make the obvious shot of course and even wait for the light to hit the leaves better and light things up even more. But, the more interesting shots can be abstract images made by thinking differently. Here is the obvious scene below.

Hancock Greenfield Covered Bridge
Colorful foliage can be seen around the Hancock – Greenfield covered bridge in Geenfield New Hampshire.

Did you notice the little surprise making this the quintessential New England image? In the right hand corner there is red and white fishing bobber that has gotten caught in the branch. How many times as a kid fishing in Maine did I do that? Here is a cropped version of the image above which I really like.

Hancock - Greenfield covered bridge
Colorful foliage can be seen around the Hancock – Greenfield covered bridge in Geenfield New Hampshire.

With the obvious images made it was time to look for abstracts! The image below is my absolute favorite.

Colorful foliage can be seen under the Hancock – Greenfield covered bridge in Greenfield New Hampshire.

The framing of the colorful fall leaves by the bottom of the covered bridge and its reflection make this image tops. A part of the scene as an abstract image what a concept. The next image is a little harder to pick up but it’s very interesting.

Colorful foliage can be seen in this reflection at the Hancock – Greenfield covered bridge in Greenfield New Hampshire.

This image is all reflection! If you look hard you can make out the water at the top of the frame. Some great images can be made if you look for parts of the obvious image as an abstract! So next time you are out shooting and faced with the obvious iconic image look for something different with a longer lens.

Wide angle landscape photography

wide angle landscape photography Pemaquid light
Pemaquid Lighthouse early morning light fall 2020.

Wide angle landscape photography can be described in two ways. 1. Getting in an entire grand landscape and 2. Emphasize the foreground as much as possible. In these two images I have tried to emphasize the foreground using the foreground to lead the eye into the frame and up to the lighthouse using the striations of t he rock below the light. I tend to use method #2 more than the first one because that is how I have always used my wide angle lenses. Using the foreground method you are able to use compositional elements to your advantage more than with any other lens. You are also able to get the most depth of field using wide angle lenses. Distortion can be your enemy or your friend depending on how you look at it. I love the distortion a real wide angle lens, eg; 15-21mm can give to your foreground. It’s always been a favorite technique of mine. In the vertical position especially, with the camera pointed downward the foreground just jumps right out at the viewer. The image above is just such an image. The rock formations take center stage and draw the viewer into the image.

wide angle landscape photography Pemaquid light
Pemaquid Lighthouse early morning light fall 2020.

With this image the opposite is true. Tilting the camera to one side or the other distorts that side. As you can see in the image above, the left side is is much larger than the rest of the image and draws the viewer into the image and up to the lighthouse. To me this is the best way to work with extreme wide angle lenses. Now if the distortion is too much then you can correct it your processing software.

While working on compositions at this location I was very cognizant of the fact that foreground distortion was important. This prevented me from looking for other types of shots which I regret. Nothing really with longer lenses which is a problem. Working the scene is one of my mantras.

wide angle landscape photography Pemaquid light
Pemaquid Lighthouse early morning light fall 2020.

I did get the shot above using my Fuji XF 16-80 but I cropped it up from the bottom to make the composition tighter. So as you can see, wide angle landscape photography can be used in many ways I have given you just a couple.

Working the composition

One of the things that I teach in my workshops is to work the composition. What this means is to not just make one image. When you see something that catches your eye, make the shot that initially pulled you in then look for other angles moving the camera position around and trying new shots. This morning I found some great looking window boxes out in front of the Rockport Art Association. I was pulled in by this initial scene below.

fall window box
Fall window box at the Rockport Art Association

It’s not bad, but in post I did nothing to make it better, like cropping in from the left a little more. Instead I worked the scene a little more with the following images.

These images are ok, but as I looked around I noticed that the window box next to it had what I was looking for. I placed the cabbage in the lower right corner leading up to the bright orange mini pumpkins in the left corner. I decided to have the cabbage (or whatever you call it) in sharp focus and the pumpkins a little out which helps your eye start out right in the middle of the cabbage. At this close distance f8 will still render the background out of focus which is what I was aiming for.

I love the way the flower here is in sharp focus and the veins of the leaf pull you up to the pumpkins and then the red berries pull you back around to the plant in the foreground again. So the viewers eye keeps moving around the image. Then as I was about to leave another composition pulled me in from the same window box but to the right of this.

The vine with the red berries pulls you up to the pumpkin then out to the left of the frame and then circles back in again. I love it when things come together.