Photo of the Week 2015-01-26

On a Saturday morning outing to a series of trails in the Halton Regional Forest Complex, I was challenged to make an image that captured the essence of the location. With a couple of friends, we hiked sections of the Mahon, Turner and Robertson Tracts. Over the course of a few kilometres, we enjoyed conversation and friendly banter as we made our way through the changing forest landscape. The atmosphere was very calming (save for the constant background hiss of static from 401 highway traffic, a constant reminder of hustle and bustle not far away) and each of us remarked on it with an individual take on what we sensed.

For my couple of hours of tranquility, I came away with a quieted mind and 29 exposures. Upon review back home, the images I had made did nothing to capture the essence of what I experienced. As I scanned again through my images, frustration set in. I was uncertain why I had been unable to create images that reflected what I had experienced. Perhaps I had been too caught up in the conversation, the banter, or maybe it was just one of those times. But the feeling that I had failed set in and somehow stayed with me ...

Sunday, with Lynn laid up because of her back, I decided I needed to get "back in the saddle". It would be a mid morning outing with the sun well up and clear blue skies overhead so I grabbed my IR converted P&S and my EOS M for backup and headed out. I wanted to just take a walk and work through the frustration.

Having attended a presentation by the Arboretum director at a recent photo club meeting I was reminded of familiar trails and the range of photo opportunities, I also learned about some areas on the grounds that I had not yet explored. In one of those new areas, I found a stand of birch and set up to visualize how I would I would process the image to translate the RAW capture into the essence of what I was seeing and sensing. 

Here, I've used a strong white vignette to remove the visual distraction at the edges of the frame and direct the viewer to the central portion of the image, simulating the selective nature of our sight. Much the way human vision captures detail in the central field of view and ignores edge detail to a great extent, the vignette manipulates this image.

"brrrrrrrrr ch"

... feeling less frustrated ... it's a step in the right direction.
 
DJE