Driving back from Missoula to Bozeman, Montana last weekend I took a detour and drove the Pintler Scenic Route, MT Hwy 1. Through the Sapphire Mountains and along Georgetown Lake’s cobalt blue waters where the views were mostly pine forest and snow capped peaks.
I had photographed the area many times before when I was the publisher of a regional travel guide some years back. It was the familiarity of the scene that was a problem for me. I didn’t want the same style landscape I already had in my stock files.
In making a change from a photojournalist to fine art photographer I am always trying to leave behind a documentary style of communication to a more interpretive and personal one. I am always asking what if?
Among the tens of thousands of pine trees I found a small grove of aspens dressed in bright spring green color. I have more than a dozen aspen grove images in all seasons. What could I do that would be different this time?
Walking along the road I felt the sense of movement of the aspens in my vision. How could I capture this feeling and compose it in the viewfinder?
Setting up my tripod I began panning across the trees. With a slow shutter speed of ¼ second I exposed a shot. It just wasn’t the right motion.
I stood there and stared at the white bark surrounded by fluttering green leaves. Then the image came. A vertical pan or tilt with the same shutter speed.
It captured the mood I felt and it was visually different from my stock landscapes of aspens.
Experimenting, trying something a bit unorthodox is always a good thing. It doesn’t matter if the results work or not as an image that communicates. The point is that you try something different to make changes in your vision.
Expand awareness of your surroundings be in the moment and the images will reach out to you as connections are made.
Related Posts:
https://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/vision-and-experimentation-creates-expression/
https://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/twenty-minute-challenge-photograph-an-orchid/
https://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/use-red-accent-photographs-to-capture-attention/
https://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2010/1/12/what-can-orange-do-for-you?/
https://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/purple-an-element-of-fire/
https://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/photography-and-feng-shui-for-interior-design/
Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2010, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. My image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com. You can contact me through this blog or email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com
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