A good photograph tells a story to use in your presentation. Sometimes it is a simple story of good taste, care and beauty. Other times it is a more complex story of interrelations, balance, layers of meaning. This photo tells a very complicated and layered story.
Susan says:
Here a stand of white birch in snow compete for recognition in a monochrome landscape. Each tree seems to defer to the others and blends peacefully into the white ground beneath. The strong vertical lines of the trees are unimpeded as they reach through the artificial line drawn by the edge of the framing. Here there is chaos created by nature and the random site where each tree chose to grow. Despite the seeming chaotic way the trees grow, your eye searches for patterns as our brain instructs us to do.
Lucia’s Story
On a bike ride, through a forest of beautiful trees, I stopped to capture this scene. Actually it was my second trip through this forest. the first time I didn’t stop. I thought about these trees for months and regretted not taking the time to make a photo of them. Therefore, on the second ride, stopping to grab this scene was foremost in my mind. Also, I envisioned this photo as black and white from the get-go. Susan describes this scene as white birch in snow. Ha! Although, it looks like snow, there wasn’t a snowflake in sight. But rendering the photo in black and white, makes it seem there’s snow on the ground. It was an added feature to my first conception. This is something I enjoy. I make a photo and when I get it home, there is often a lot more to see. I like what I saw after making it black and white, so much so that it’s one of my favorite photos. I like the lines and layers. I feel it draws you into the woods, as it did me.
Obviously, you can look at this photo and it can bring up a story for you. Mine is a story of returning to a scene and fulfilling an idee fixe.
