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November 2008
The story behind it
01/11/2008
At the end of a good day of walking and photography, the light goes down, smoothly on the landscape. After walking, leaving no more than footprints, along the best forest walk I know, I go back to the car. Looking back, I see the magnificent valleys, from the river. There is a new bridge, made of marvellous wood, as of it is part of the forest. I stop. I take the camera out, change lens. I had to be quick, since the light was changing fast. Without the tripod, I shoot. I am on the bridge, in the silence of the valley, above the troubled waters. The sun sets and the good light leaves. The photograph I keep, with a story.Comment
Technical issues
01/11/2008
It was taken with a digital reflex camera. The 12mm lens, equivalent to a focal distance of 18mm on a 35mm film camera, was crucial for the composition. I used bracketing, with seven exposures. These were combined in HDR, in the digital darkroom. With no tripod, the handheld camera had to be kept static.In fact, this photograph could have resulted from a single exposure on film. I would then have to use a polarising filter and a ND grad filter, probably requiring a tripod. The photograph would have taken much longer to make, preparing the whole set. And the light wasn't going to wait for me. I ended up with a photograph that I will not print as large as others.
Critial review
01/11/2008
Due composition, it grabs the eye: the leading lines, straight or arched, provide extreme notion of perspective and strength. The distortion introduced by the lens enhances this. Anyhow, the straight lines are reasonably intact. The lines on the bridge work and a frame, keeping the rich textures, colour, geography and forest in the background. There is an unusual combination, also due to composition, of the natural and artificial, the forest and the bridge's wood. Some details, like the steel screws, introduce sense of modernity. The light is magnificent, with HDR providing something very close to what my eyes then experienced. Due to processing and the digital basis, even in RAW, it does not allow too large a print.Where you should place it
01/11/2008
Well, honestly, even being a great photograph I don't see it as a decorative piece. It seems more of a promoting photograph. Either for the place where it was taken, the philosophical link between the natural and the Man-made, for the beauty of that combination, or for architecture in the landscape. If you see it in an office related to building or architecture, it fits nicely. Or in a travel agent. On a wall that brings about the link of a natural park with the human factor, in the respect and the beauty that comes from it. I leave you to it.
