This week has been pretty demanding, in multiple ways, so while I had several things that I was planning to tackle for the blog, I couldn’t even bring one to completion, and only shot a handful of photos as it was. I am hoping things will get better soon, but I know it’s likely to be another couple of days. More content is coming, I promise.
This one comes, again, from the very early days of slide shooting, and so it bears no date and no film stamp on the slide border (something that I started adding a little later on.) However, since it’s a variation of this one, I can confidently say that it’s Fuji Provia 100 at least, and probably shot in 1999.
This is a section of Duke Forest, and I got lucky in finding a small clearing bordered by a variety of autumn colors framed by a brilliant blue sky, so I shot both horizontal and vertical compositions. There’s a faintly different feel to the two choices, which is why I often try a couple of different approaches to subjects – if there comes a demand for something that emphasizes the height of the trees or even a feeling of insignificance, I would choose this version over the other.
But I still want to do these better, mostly because of the damn longneedle pines that litter the state. They’re the ones with the long straight trunks and the kind of threadbare look to the canopy, and this is typical; they’re ugly trees and all over the damn place here, next to impossible to avoid. While I have yet to find the ideal mix of tree species for a nice balance of colors come autumn, I’m always watching. Of course, unless you really know your tree species (and I don’t,) you have to wait for fall to see how the displays are going to turn out anyway. And you have to have a good season for display, and catch the right weather and skies and times, and of course have the opportunity to be out shooting, and so on…