I came upon this very still pre-blizzard scene in rural Aberdeenshire on Christmas Eve. This lone stark snow-etched tree, draped with crows was isolated in a field of unbroken snow, save for a tuft of grass emerging from the white blanket. And all of this under a leaden sky.
As with a few previous images I've posted, this was taken with a wee compact Canon. The capabilities of these small cameras is really quite remarkable - we're spoiled in this digital age with the tools at our disposal for instant image-making.
Canon G9, ISO 100, handheld. (This is a colour image, not converted to b&w!)
Posted by Craig Jones on January 3, 2010 at 3:54 PM
Love the starkness of this image and the composition of the tree is brillant,simply but beautiful
Posted by John Robinson on January 3, 2010 at 4:02 PM
Grand shot John.
Just shows biggest is not always best.
JohnR
Really nice John,the inclusion of the grass bottom right hand corner balances it nicely!!
Throw all that Canon slr's stuff away!!!!
Craig
www.craigchurchill.co.uk
Posted by jack chapman on January 3, 2010 at 4:29 PM
very nice, i think my first instinct would have been to expose the the snow for white and my first thought was it's too dark when i opened this but the more i look at it the more i like the the two tones of grey, beautifully composed anyhow
Posted by jack chapman on January 3, 2010 at 4:30 PM
very nice. I think my first instinct would have been to expose the the snow for white but the more i look at it the more i like the the two tones of grey, beautifully composed anyhow.
I love the simplicity of this. I also wondered about perhaps brightening the snow, but can't make up my mind. I might also burn in the shadow under the tree a little. Overall though - sublime!
A splendid image. I like the tones and think the tuft of grass balances the image nicely. Simple often works.
Posted by CLICKMAN38 on January 3, 2010 at 6:17 PM
John,
A beautifully-composed image. You're absolutely right about the joys of having a compact to carry around constantly.....now if only they would make a zoom compact with the pulling power of a 500mm lens! I know what the others mean about setting exposure for the snow but snow is almost infinitely variable in colour, as we in Scotland know well this winter. I'd leave it was it is because it clearly reflects the desolate nature of the landscape. And you didn't even have to be "creative" this time. Nature did it for you.
Tom
Posted by Nigel Spencer on January 4, 2010 at 3:22 AM
A really goof effective image. It is easy to put to much into a picture and this proves how good a strong subject can look. Excellent.
Posted by Iain Tookey on January 4, 2010 at 7:30 AM
A lovely image, with the crows just being big enough to make them out, and nice composition.
The little bit of grass to the right does seem to balance it, and gives a sense of scale too.
It was a scene I wished I could have spent more time exploring, but the job I was there trying to do was the priority, so I'd to be satisified with a few quick frames on the compact as I passed by.
I pondered over the processing exposure - lighter snow looks fine, but this was a dull day with skies varying from battleship grey to steely grey-blue, and snow is remarkable stuff, and as a few of you have observed, it reflects much of whats going on around it. At this moment it was a grey sky and the snow reflected that, with the crows echoing that sombre mood with their behaviour.
Posted by Andy Astbury on January 5, 2010 at 5:00 AM
I do like this John - a lot
'Nuff said................
Posted by Colin Crowdey on January 6, 2010 at 4:39 PM
simple is usually best as they say and this is certainly best - love it a lot
Discussion
17 repliesAs with a few previous images I've posted, this was taken with a wee compact Canon. The capabilities of these small cameras is really quite remarkable - we're spoiled in this digital age with the tools at our disposal for instant image-making.
Canon G9, ISO 100, handheld. (This is a colour image, not converted to b&w!)
Just shows biggest is not always best.
JohnR
Throw all that Canon slr's stuff away!!!!
Craig
www.craigchurchill.co.uk
A beautifully-composed image. You're absolutely right about the joys of having a compact to carry around constantly.....now if only they would make a zoom compact with the pulling power of a 500mm lens! I know what the others mean about setting exposure for the snow but snow is almost infinitely variable in colour, as we in Scotland know well this winter. I'd leave it was it is because it clearly reflects the desolate nature of the landscape. And you didn't even have to be "creative" this time. Nature did it for you.
Tom
The little bit of grass to the right does seem to balance it, and gives a sense of scale too.
Des
Ian
It was a scene I wished I could have spent more time exploring, but the job I was there trying to do was the priority, so I'd to be satisified with a few quick frames on the compact as I passed by.
I pondered over the processing exposure - lighter snow looks fine, but this was a dull day with skies varying from battleship grey to steely grey-blue, and snow is remarkable stuff, and as a few of you have observed, it reflects much of whats going on around it. At this moment it was a grey sky and the snow reflected that, with the crows echoing that sombre mood with their behaviour.
'Nuff said................
excellent
cheers
Colin