Traer Scott.

Saw an article on Traer Scott's work in last months issue of National Geographic and was instantly interested to find out more about her work and the aim of the images I'd see printed. Below you will see a few example of what I captured my attention.

 

 

 

Images taken from http://www.traerscott.com/portfolios/natural-history

In this collection focusing on taxidermied animals in glass case see looked to capture the public reaction to certain animals, for example in the top image of Panda's see comments that she found it an interesting insight that people tended to rush past the more endanger species hardly stopping. Is this because they somehow feel guilty for taking pleasure in viewing such a beautiful create in this state? In the final shot I find it quiet apt that a group of Far Eastern children look on in wonder at a animal that there cultures alternative medical practices is driving to the very brink of extinction because of there need for rhino horn. As a group of photo's its a very different and unique approach to capture peoples reactions and emotions by simply using the reflective nature of the cases to capture both the subject and the reaction.

I really like this collection but on her website http://www.traerscott.com/ there's a lot more depth and variety to be found, my favorite's being her Street Dogs and Wild Horses work because she's caught in both there nature and wildness but at the same time capture there personalities and made each photo feels so full of life.

What I'll take away from studying her work is something I saw she wrote about her work with people in which she said she doesn't like to interact with them because she doesn't want to compromise the candid nature of the photo. This I think is referring to the above photo's because she wants there reactions to be as natural as possible. Can I use this candid approach in my own Major Project I don't really know but it's an idea I could bring into it.

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New Work for Major Project Part 4.

 Tech. Details

F-stops- f/11

Expo- 400sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

I know in my last entry I said I wanted to put a little more variety into this section but I took this shot last week and just loved the mood it creates with the dead tree in the background and the rows of new planting leading the eye straight towards it. I think its the contrast between the new and the old that makes this photo tick, plus the very dramatic sky.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/10

Expo- 250sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

As we enter Spring I've already mention how I hope this'll help bring the variety I'm after to this section and in this image I've started to do this. In the woodland one of the first signs of the changing season is the appearance of Daffodils, I think this photo again as with the one above works because of the contrast between the still very dead looking trees and the new life on the ground.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/10

Expo- 320sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 22mm

What caught the eye here was general shape/form of the tree as it's a little unusual because it's clearly one tree which appears to be two. It isn't actually in any of the new planted areas but there's just something about it that makes it different.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/13

Expo- 400sec

ISO- 500

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

There's a couple of ways you can look at this photo, one that it's someone having a bit of a laugh or two that its someone highlighting a serious health and safety concern. Unfortunately I think its probably the second because in today's world everything is seen as a danger to your health and landowners have to cover themselves against law suits. I think personally this just proves my growing concern that the whole world has gone crazy, what next warning signs saying you might slip on the wet grass? This is why I like this shot because it serves a double purpose of illustrating a local issue but at the same time anyone can relate to the health and safety madness we all live with.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 500sec

ISO- 1250

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 300mm

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/10

Expo- 800sec

ISO- 1250

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 140mm

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 640sec

ISO- 1000

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 250mm

I been keeping my eye out for a while now for a good wildlife shot to show something of the kind of things that you're likely to find within this forest but had struggled a little. First I tried birds, pretty easy you'd think but not as straight forward as I'd hoped in the more mature areas. Then I thought Badgers after I'd seen the sign, again this time of year with the young starting to leave the sets it supposed to be easy to get shots while the lights still pretty good. To my amazement I never saw one badger in the couple of attempts I had, I know there there it just seemed they also new I was. Then when I was really beginning to wonder what I was going to do I came across to very young Grey Squirrels playing with each other, they could have been very old at all and it could have even been the very first time they'd left the dray because as long as I stayed very still, up wind and in the sun they didn't mind me watch them at all. The three photos above are the best from quiet a few I took and I think I'm personally leaning towards the last shot as my favorite because I like the way I managed to capture the larger of the two playfully biting at the smaller's ear. I always think wildlife images work better if there's a little action involved, some how it makes the photo's seem more real and less posed (not that its easy with wildlife to do this but you no what I mean).

Major Project Part 4- The National Forest.

The National Forest scheme was setup back in the mid 90's to create a new woodland in the Midlands (for more info see http://www.nationalforest.org/), Yoxall sits right on the edge of this area and only makes up a very small fraction of the total project which covers areas throughout Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. I can only speak for the area around where I live but what generally seems to happen is that the Scheme acts as an option to landowners who's ground isn't being used anymore for agricultural purpose's but they need it to make them money somehow so the scheme rents the land for a set length of time (I'm guessing we're taking over 20yrs at a time) and then plants tree over this area. At my best guess I'd say that about a 3rd of the land surrounding the village that 25 years ago was farmland is now part of the National Forest so you can see from his how farming has reduced in the area during just this short period.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 500sec

ISO- 1000

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 300mm

In a new plantation I spotted this refection in a freshly dug pond and thought it create a interesting effect, its one of them kind of photos where you simple can't see where the bank ends and the reflection begins making it seem almost unreal on first glance. I think it would have worked better if I'd taken it later in the day maybe because then I would have been able to get closer to the far bank and capture more of the surrounding landscape, this would have meant it would have appeared as such a narrow field of view. Its not a bad shot I just think maybe I could look again and improve on the idea.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/10

Expo- 250sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 55mm

What I went looking for was a high vantage point where I could give a better impression of the layout and scale of an areas that had been freshly planted only recently, the above image works pretty well in this respect I think. What I like about this particular view was the way the misty conditions softened the image giving it a kind of dreamy appearance and making the silhouetted trees in the background seem far less harsh and defined as they would have seemed in more normal conditions. 

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/9

Expo- 200sec

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 31mm

Because the project has been underway for near 20 years now there are different areas of woodland that are more mature then others having been planted in the early stages of its inception, one of the problems that is starting to arise in some of these areas is that as after the planting its down to the land owner to then maintain his patch some are beginning to fail in there responsibility. Here above you can see this with the over grown nature and with the sign seemingly falling to pieces only adds to this effect. This is one of my more favorite images in this section because it shows one of the failings of the project.

  

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/9

Expo- 250sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 24mm

Above is shown a new area of planting with the protection tubes almost looking like grave markers in a strange kind of way with lines moving away into the distance (I know its a strange comparison to make but that's almost what they appear like to me). What I wanted to make use of was the light projecting the shadows from these tubes towards the camera because I thought it'd add an extra dimension to what without would seem quiet a dull uninteresting view. I think the end result is something altogether more interesting because of the way I've framed it it not maybe straight away obvious what you're looking at which can only add to a viewers interest.

   

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 160sec

ISO- 500

Expo Bias 0 steps

Focal Length- 22mm

For my final view in this section its back to a more mature area but this time what capture my attention was the way the grass almost appears like waves lapping through the frame giving it a very strange unique appearance. In Photoshop I once again used the burn tool to increase the contrast in the grass while at the same time really darkening the trees making them stand out from the lighter grey of the sky. I like the range in  this photo although others might say its a little on the dark side I think that's one of the reasons it works well.

When I look at this section as a whole at the minute I think its main problem is that maybe it lacks a little bit of variety that the other sections have more of. As I said in the 3rd part of my project hopefully with the on set of Spring and life returning to these areas I'll be able to put this right. If I'm honest this section I've struggled with a lot because how do you illustrate a woodland project without ending up with photos of trees and more trees, maybe I need to start looking a little more closely at maybe the way it has effected the area in encouraging more wildlife or how it contrast with the surrounding farmland. As I've said lets hope Spring gets my creative juices flowing again.

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New Work For Major Project Part 2.

Below are a few new images that I'm considering for use in my Major Project section called Abandoned.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 200sec

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

This shot I took a while ago now but I couldn't decided which section I felt it sat best in, in the end I thought the basic idea of it being an abandoned bike which sat for about a week in this position meant the logical chose was to place it in this section. Don't know what happened to it in the end but its gone now, most probably the scrap man had it but its a mystery. Maybe not a great photo but there's something about it that makes it a possible.

Tech Details

F-stops- f/13

Expo- 400sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 55mm

Although this building looks abandoned in actual fact it isn't its a full working factory located on the edge of the village. I took it the other month when we had some snow mainly because i made it look even more abandoned with the snow piled in the chairs and the boards up at the windows only increase this feeling and look. Unfortunately the foot prints in the snow kind of spoil the effect and I'm not sure about the angle either but still a interesting shot.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/11

Expo- 250sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 28mm

What this images has going for it is that it fits in well with the theme running through the photos I originally presented for this section. What it shows is the village garage up for sale, don't know the reason behind this whether for financial reasons or whether the lease has simple ran out. Either way it'd be another major loss if it closes down because it'd mean having to travel into the nearest town of either Lichfield or Burton on Trent to get any work done which isn't helpful as this would mean a twenty to half an hour journey. What I like about this shot most is that the texture of the door and the dirtiness really shows up well giving a strong sense of realism, a definite possibility in my final selection. 

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/14

Expo- 640sec

ISO- 500

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 54mm

Yet more evidence of the difficulties on modern farms, this is one of two barns that aren't actually near a farm but instead located out in the fields. The one barn completely collapsed when all the slate was stolen from the roof many years ago while this example has unfortunately just become increasingly run down until it to has begun to fall down after the last two winter. Its a shame because you don't seem to find these kind of structures anywhere else in the area so it's like the area is losing some of its unique heritage yet few seem to care.

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Major Project Part 3- Agriculture.

For the next part of my Major Project I wanted to focus on the Agricultural landscape which makes up part of the surround countryside around Yoxall (the rest is made up by the National Forest project but I'll cover that more in due course). What I was looking for were images that illustrated the diversity in the Agricultural landscape that can be found in what is a very small area around the village. As with the previous parts of my Major Project this isn't the finished product by any means because whats great about this subject is that during the next few months as things spring back to life and start to grow the landscapes can change in a matter of weeks producing new opportunities. Below is what at this point I consider to be my best images for this section.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/14

Expo- 500sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 22mm

What I like about this shot is the way the lines draw the eye into the background towards the distant single tree plus the way the horizon is shaped it too has a similar effect on the scene. Its a very simple photo but one that works well in illustrating a Autumnal view as the fields have been replanted ready for the spring and for the yearly cycle to start again. I used a red filter in Photoshop to finish off this shot because I like the blue of the sky to appear darker giving it what I think is a much more dramatic feel because it makes the clouds really jump out and seem more solid, if the photo is left in its original state the tonal range just isn't quiet right and it doesn't match the reality of the subject.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/13

Expo- 500sec

ISO- 250

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 22mm

The second photo in this section I again captured towards the back end of last year but with this example I took inspiration from my Critical Review and the way Ansel Adams made his own landscapes appear grander and more dramatic. What he did to achieve this was simple drop the horizon lower in the field of view altering the scale and feel of the subject. Again as in the first image I've made the sky appear dramatic and it possibly works better in this case because the clouds seem more threatening in that there could be a storm on the way. 

Tech Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 160sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 52mm

For me this is the best photo in this section because it captures a moment that is repeated daily at this time of year all over the country but at the same time is quiet personal because I was able to get pretty close without disturbing the cows while they fed on one of only two dairy farms left in the village. I just like the way they get stuck in shoving each other out the way and then burying themselves up to there ears in some case in there food. Its actually amusing to watch because they know when it's feeding time and will stand together waiting, even calling out sometimes if the farmer happens to be late. With this shot I didn't have to make any changes in Photoshop because the original version was about spot on, the only thing I did do was slightly crop some of the background out to full focus the view on the activity of the cows.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/5.3

Expo- 100sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 55mm

One thing Winter does bring is the storing away of farm machinery until the spring as a lot of the livestock has been brought into barns or just closer to the farms. I think there's something a little sad this kind of view, you much rather see a farm up and running and busy rather then pact up and quiet as you see here. Maybe it's because I've seen to many farms left in this manner after either the farmer's retired with none of their family wanting to take on the running or its simple gone out of business all together.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/10

Expo- 250sec

ISO- 500

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 35mm

It isn't all doom and gloom though I might make it sound like that some times because some are coming up with alternative ways of make a living from the land. Take the photo above of a Alpaca farm on the edge of the village (see website Trent Bridge Alpacas for more info) someone who's trying something a little different and making a success of it. What I wanted to do here was use the low light to capture just their shadows originally because I thought it'd look a bit different even usual but it just didn't work so instead I widened the view to include the animals themselves and the surrounding landscape. The end result works much better and it still looks a bit strange because you aren't use to seeing Alpacas in the English countryside.

Taken all together I'm fairly happy with how this section is coming together, I think it reflects the land use and what's going on in the landscape but at the same time there's still room to improve. As I said at the start over the coming months I'd hope to still expand this more because it's one of two sections that I'm planning to continue working on throughout the rest of the course, the other section being on the National Forest Project which I'm going to cover in my next entry.  

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New Work For Major Project Part 1

New images to consider for my By Day Section (Re titled The Village during Assignment 5) , all have there merits but do any add anything to the work I've already produced?

 Tech. Details

F-stops- f/4.5

Expo- 2500sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 31mm

What I liked about this shot was that it adds a little light heartiness to what so far has been a more serious project. You could argue that the mood should remain the same throughout the section but I'm a believer that this doesn't always have to be so and if you can find the right photo and get the balance right it can work. What I think it shows is that there is like most places a mischievous side to the residents, you may not always see it because the village looks quiet and peaceful but its there.

    

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/14

Expo- 500sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 55mm

Here the focus is more on the quiet sedate side of life with the typical view you'd expect in most villages of the cricket pavilion on a sunny day. It may only be March but you can see that the pitch is already being prepared in readiness for April and the start of the new season. As usual I have to ask the question what does this illustrate about Yoxall as a place, for me it's that although things are changing some parts remain the same and always will.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/11

Expo- 250sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 31mm

I'd been looking for a while now for a different view of a familiar landmark in the village and eventually came across this reflection in one of the village hall windows of the school across the road. What I really like about it is it's a little abstract and unusual but at the same time its still very recognizable to anyone that knows the area. Originally the image contained more of the window surround but I cropped this away as I felt it didn't work very well like this, what you see above is a much better result in my eyes. 

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/5.6

Expo- 100sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

What this image captures is how space within the center of the village is very much at a premium with new homes built very nearly in the graveyard. Again its the struggle between the new and the old in a way but a the same time its a some what haunting image with the kneeling angel head stone as the focus of the shot. I like it but I'm not sure whether its right for this project.

   Tech. Details

F-stops- f/6.3

Expo- 100sec

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 44mm

The above photo is one you commonly see when anyone does any kind of work surrounding British villages because these two icons are some of the first things you associate with village life. Fair enough you don't see to many red phone boxes anymore these days so it does make it a little more interesting but on the whole its been done that many times that I find myself a bit tied of them being used as a symbol of Britishness (don't know if that's actually a word but you get what I mean). The reason I've included it here is the simple fact that its still a scene that relates to village life, while also showing something which is becoming out dated in the modern world.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/14

Expo- 640sec

ISO- 500

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 34mm

Similar to another photo above of the village Cricket field but this one shows more of the preparations for the start of the season. Still needs a bit of work as the tonal range isn't that great at the minute but I think when it's done it could be a pretty good shot.

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/3.5

Expo- 15sec

ISO- 200

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 24mm

This is the first shot that I've added to this section from my At Night (explanation for this can be found in Assignment 5 section), taken in the village graveyard I liked the way this area was being illuminated by the church lights giving it a different presents. The other point I like about this shot is that nearly all the shapes in the scene are very angler and sharp expect for the stone closest to the camera which in complete contrast to the others is very rounded. Most people would possibly look at this scene and straight away say it's a little spook but with the amount of light I just don't think it feels like that.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/3.5

Expo- 5sec

ISO- 200

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 21mm

Here I wanted to capture the feeling of the speed people will travel through the village at so to do this I used a longer exposure to just capture the headlights of a passing car. Technically it's a good photo but I don't know there's just something about it which doesn't feel right. Maybe it's the composition or maybe I should have got the headlight blur going even further into the distance, I don't know but what I do think is that I don't think I'd use it in my final selection.

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Whats Going On.

Something my tutor suggested to me was to give people a little more insight into Yoxall, so what I thought was I'd attempt to keep anyone reading this up to date on whats happening in the village at the minute. The idea behind this is that it'll give you more of an understanding on the place I hope. One of the main issues right now is the fact that the main road through the village has been closed for resurfacing work, now to anyone looking in from outside this might seem a very trivial matter but in a small community it brings big problems. First there the disruption to the people living here because it can make it near to impossible to even get home if the highways workers feel like being difficult and completely block your access to your road (hasn't happened to me yet but its only a matter of time). On the upside this means there's very little heavy traffic coming through namely the larger lorries that use the road as a short cut instead of using the A38 and A50 to get up to Ashbourne, nice for me living near to the main road but not so good for any of the local business that rely on the passing trade to keep themselves going so as you might imagine there's a little tension at the moment. On a lighter not saw a post in the Pub window yesterday advertising a Bungee jump taking place on the car park in the near future, should be a good laugh don't know whether to have a go myself or not but it should provide some good photo if nothing else. Other then that I don't think there's much else to report, spring seems like it could be just round the corner which is always good after the cold dark winter because the sudden burst of colour returning to the landscape is always something to look forward to.

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