March 2012
The story behind it
01/03/2012
It had been one of the heaviest snow-fall in the Gerês Mountains region. We had slept in a shepherds' hut (that we were sure to leave as we had found it), after our mountain-menu-inspired dinner the evening before. The night had been incredibly cold, with clear skies above us. The plan was to start photographing early, for the best light.The snow cracks under my feet. All is of a pristine virgin beauty, with only our footsteps and the prints of a fox paws around. My friend and I are careful in not unnecessarily marking and spoil such wonderfully-weaved carpet.
Comment
Technical issues
01/03/2012
This one was shot with Fuji Velvia 50 slide 35mm film, my good "old" Nikon F80 body and forever good 24mm f2.8 lens. Tripod and no other filter other than a Haze-2A UV filter. Then I've scanned it with the great Nikon Super COOLSCAN 9000 ED, at the very best quality.And the post-processing was just minor contrast and Unsharp-Masking. For this photograph I 100% respected "what-you-see-is-what-you-get", and what you see here is truthful to the slide.
Critial review
01/03/2012
This is a blue-cast photograph, getting details in the yellows, deep blacks and subtle shades. The foreground rocks and snow are getting light reflected by the yellow sun-lit hills in the opposite side of the valley. There is also a bit of alpen glow on the top hills, providing richness to a photo that would otherwise be much flatter. The exposure is just on the spot to capture the textures and humps on the snow carpet. The composition favours such ground, covering around 50% of the picture, with several diagonal and vertical lines on the other top half.The simplicity comes for such breaking-rules composition and limited colour use.
Where you should place it
01/03/2012
A photograph with such a colour cast requires the simplest frame, with or without pass-par-tout. I would suggest a white pass-par-tout, even with some texture, with a dark simple thin frame.Due to the quality of the film used, and because it was film scanned with the very best quality, this photograph endures very large prints. You will get wonderful detail and great colours.
As always, is must be well lit to make the most of all it has to give.
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