In the first week we were given the task of taking 5 shots of trees, so the tutor could get a feeling of our individual photographic skills. As well as taking the shots we were also asked to document the shoot; lighting conditions, time of day, how was the shoot, equipmement used etc.
Tree Shots, Information:
Kit:
Camera: Olympus E-400
Lens: 14-42mm
Accessory: Kood Polarizer
For the tree ‘test’ I visited Hardwick Park just off J29 of the M1. I chose this place, as I was confident (or is that hoping?) I would be able to get some decent shots of trees and it is fairly close to my house! The park consists of fishing ponds and woodland walks and is land belonging to the Hardwick Hall estate, which can be seen in one or two of my images in the background.
I went out fairly late in the day at about 3.00pm in the afternoon, not always ideal for landscape shots, but the weather hadn’t been great earlier in the day, (overcast) and I was planning on converting my shots to Black and White to hide the potential dullness of the shots. This all changed when the sun came out and the grey clouds disappeared and my walk around was more enjoyable for it.
I wanted to capture and use the trees in a variety of ways; framing the shot, whole tree, detail, reflection and dead trees (which I did happen to find).
Shot: Tree-5
Exposure: 1/40 sec
Aperture: F10
ISO: 100
This shot was taken close to the car park. I had actually spotted it when I was driving in and parking up. I liked the way the trees framed the pond and the Hall in the distance. I used a small amount of in camera flash to try and fill in the shadows of the tree trunk.
Shot: Tree-6
Exposure: 1/40 sec
Aperture: F10
ISO: 100
This is a detail shot of the tree trunk featured in the previous picture (tree-5). This shot turned out okay, but I’m not as happy with it, as I am with the others I took during my walk. On closer inspection it’s not as sharp as it should’ve been, I think it lacks a focal point and the lighting is on the flat side. I do quite like the leaves moving up on the right though.
Shot: Tree-9
Exposure: 1/25 sec
Aperture: F10
ISO: 100
This shot was taken over the largest of the fishing ponds at Hardwick Park. I liked the trees position over the water and the reflection it created. Compositionally I tried to use the ducks and the lilies as lead in lines towards the tree and placed the Hall in the shot on the left for background interest. I chose an Aperture of F10 to retain detail throughout the image.
Shot: Tree-11
Exposure: 1/80 sec
Aperture: F10
ISO: 100
As I walked around the park I came across this scene over one of the smaller ponds. Again I liked the reflection the water provided of the larger tree and the bank. I think the composition of this shot could have been improved by moving position to remove the grass from the left corner or to include more it. The exposure is also slightly under.
Shot: Tree-15
Exposure: 1/50 sec
Aperture: F8.0
ISO: 100
I think this shot works better than shot 11 (above), the patch of lilies help to break the mass of water and provide some interest in this area of the scene and helps lead your eye into the image towards the two larger trees. Unfortunately I’ve included some grass in the corner again, which is a distraction.
Shot: Tree-20
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: F4.0
ISO: 100
I followed the path out of the pond area of the park and out into a large field. I happened to spot this old rotten tree on the hill and walked up to see what it was like. I thought the textures and patterns were amazing, especially on this root section. I knelt down low to try and incorporate all of the roots and use the trunk of the tree to push into the depth of the scene. There is a slight cast warm cast to the image, which I plan to fix for the final image.
Shot: Tree-23
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: F4.0
ISO: 100
This is a shot of the same tree but from the side. The idea was to include a living tree in the shot with the dead one to juxtapose the two together. The shot feels messy with too much going on. The dead tree doesn’t lead to anywhere and the living tree is maybe too hidden behind it. I probably should have changed my aperture setting too, but I planned on taking some more shots from different distances, angles and settings, but both my batteries ran out on me!
Shot: Tree-24
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: F4.0
ISO: 100
The dead tree provided me with this shot. I thought the textures of the bark with the moss growing in-between the cracks looked really interesting. I moved in close so that the bark filled the frame. I like the detail and the layer effect the lines of bark and moss provide. I could have (or should have) changed my Aperture setting from F4.0 to something smaller like F10 or less, to give sharp detail across the entire image.
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