April 2012
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The story behind it
01/04/2012
We are in the middle of the Pyrenees. The plan for the day is walking through a wonderful valley, close to Benasque. It is Spring, and we feel we arrive at the peak of the blossoming in the place. We find this "sea" of dandelion, at lunch time. There were islands of rocks, spread on the valley floor. We choose one for lunch and then each one of us chooses his own island for a silent, nice warm nap.The birds sing. The clouds fly. You are observed by animals that you don't see, but that follow you in each step. You are in the middle of the forest and the mountains. You walk freely. You respect freely. You go and return with rules that you naturally follow, because you are a respecting walker.
Comment
Technical issues
01/04/2012
It was shot with 35mm slide film, again my good "old" Nikon F80 body and forever good 24mm f2.8 lens (this seems like a tribute to them, right?). No tripod and no other filter other than a Haze-2A UV filter. Just like the previous month's cover, I scanned it with the great Nikon Super COOLSCAN 9000 ED.In post-processing I placed a grad-ND filter, to lower the clouds by 1EV stop, and just some minor contrast and USM. I didn't have my ND filters with me, travelling light. But the film and its scanning captured all detail at the high- and shadows. I'd still argue that I have been faithful to the scene and definitely to the slide.
Critial review
01/04/2012
In terms of composition, I've decided to intentionally "break" the photo in 2 halves - the "sea" of flowers with the rock islands and, behind that, the sky, the mountains and the deep forest. Like this, I give the blossoming floor a stronger role, as if reducing the weight of the great mountains.The clouds in the sky also play a fundamental part, providing texture and volume. They also create nice shadows on the mountain slopes.The wide-angle 24mm lens was sufficiently close to horizontal, keeping distortion discrete. It anyhow includes the bit of the rock at the bottom left border, further providing visual perspective.
Where you should place it
01/04/2012
Well, there is always the same rule - give it light and it will shine. Besides that, and though the original file has enough quality and information for a large print, I'd see this photograph printed small. I see something between A5 and A4. Why? Maybe because it'd give me the feeling of a little beautiful shrine; a shrine for Nature, for purity, for the power of the small living things. Is this absurd?
