Thursday 8 May 2008

How do we capture Spring? - # 08/97

Yesterday Richard made an interesting comment about the Mr. Fox photo. I have been trying to capture the amazing carpet of wild flowers we have around here at the moment. Each attempt seems to defy the technology of photography...or my mastery of it.

Richard pointed out the "Impressionist" effect. Indeed, day by day my transit through the Petersham Copse is assailed by the vision of the "pointilliste" painters. This looks great on a French painter's canvas but confusing and annoying in a colour photo, and B&W totally fails.

Richard is right when he questions Mr. Fox's presence. But wrong in thinking it was the fox that provoked the picture. The picture wanted to capture the carpet of "pointilliste" Spring flowers. The fox suddenly popped up, and being a sucker for fury animals I included him.

What do you think? Was the picture worth seeing without the fox? Should I have risked the "no-fox" version?

Today I'm practicing (not very well) my macro shots. See: http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond_park/isabella_plantation.cfm

5 comments:

  1. Stunning shot!!

    I do like the fox though as i was surprised to know wild foxes are still around your neck of the woods.

    But the macro shot is great too....oh I can't decide!!!!

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  2. Loved the fox photo. funnily enough only a couple of days ago I saw a fox at the top of the track. Late afternoon it was which surprised me.
    Someone told me (don't know if it's true) that the foxes here aren't v healthy. If so, perhaps that's why.

    Yesterday's photo would have been lovely without the fox. I personally like it with the fox although the fox isn't as sharp as the rest of the photo, obviously cos it moved.

    The macro photo is beautiful, but the other one, with or without fox, does it for me. I love that pointillism effect and the shadows and that lovely wall with the pineapple 'thingies' on the left.

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  3. Hi Roon! Great pictures here! Spring is in full forceom in Lisbon as the wonderful jacarandas are blooming...
    Amazing that fox! Apple pie with all that cream? You're ruining my diet... ;)
    Thanks for your comment on Blogtrotter, where I’m still around Rabat, but preparing to move to Casablanca… ;))
    Hope you have a great weekend!

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  4. I like today's picture a lot. I signed up to put a flower picture in a spring fair competition, and wonder what makes one *picture* of a beautiful flower better than another. Surely not the subject itself....

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  5. Interesting the discussion about impressionism... I shows us how those painters taught us how maybe to see and appreciate things differently. Fox or not... ? Of course Monet would just have shown the meadow, the flowers.... But, when you get a fox in the objective like this, of course you just MUST show it!

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