The story of a photo 3

This photo is from my last photography practice, an amble through the woods on a warm September day.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been practising with my 90mm lens. On my Fuji X-T4 this is full frame equivalent to a 135mm lens, a focal length that has fallen a little from favour.

I bought the lens to pretend I was Saul Leiter doing street photography and it is great for that. I like the way it compresses the frame, creating pattern out of shape and form. This photo is a great example of that.

There is nothing extraordinary about this image. However, there is something about the way that every element has its space and the blue sky holds it in place that speaks of how I felt during the practice.

It was comfortably warm, mid afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky. My day had been productive and I had found space to do my practice. All was well with the world.

As I wandered down a less familiar and popular route, my eye was drawn to the height of all the wild plants. It’s been a good year for growth. Lots of warmth and occasional downpours.

I was walking through a section filled with tall, once pink, flowers that were shedding their dandelion like seeds in the gentle breeze. I created a few images in that area, then as I came out my eye was drawn to this one remnant of those flowers.

I’m not sure what there was about the scene that attracted me, but as I looked through the viewfinder I saw how I could give each element of the undergrowth, peaking over the hedgerow line, its own space.

The final photo reflects my inward state. It is calm, ordered and content. Aristotle might be happy.

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Aristotle