This is not a long walk on the Appalachian Trail , Bill Bryson style , no , no , no …
This was more of a opportunistic drop everything , perfect conditions shoot in my local woodland , within five minutes of leaving home I was walking through a classic winter woodland , complete with frost , low sun and the inevitable atmospheric mist , sometimes I take my “Neighborhood” for granted, its not a bad place to be …
I know I’m a lucky boy but remember I shoot “Street” and my preferred urban environment is fifteen miles away !
I have to be honest a wood as pretty as this is all a bit too classic for me but mornings like this are all about the walk rather than the pictures , this is one of those mornings that calendar photographers dream of , although that’s not really my bag nowadays !
Woodland chaos will challenge your compositional skills , thankfully you’ll get loads of time to find the best compositions . See trees think crowds …
What has this got to do with Street Photography ? …… that’s what I thought , until I got my head into the job in hand !
The problem I have with these woodlands and all other woodlands is that they are all a bit too random , yes random !
Randomness is no good to me , it means I’ve got to try and make some sort of order from what appears to be thoughtless chaos , just like the chaos that attracts me to Street Photography !
These huge wooden things are placed unevenly everywhere without any sense of composition , order or thought for my pictorial agenda , like I said “Random” and thoughtless !
The challenge is to make order from the chaos , not unlike a crowded street in fact , the advantage of woodland photography is that the trees stay still and are much better behaved than the folk on the streets , allowing time to find good compositional solutions and learn at my own pace , its not easy bringing compositional order to chaotic woodlands or busy streets .
Remember all photographic learning and knowledge is good , its up to you to decide if and when to use it !
Finding pockets of good light is also much easier in a empty wood …
Note how the rule of thirds is adopted in the top left and how the branch in the top right is placed neatly in corner , this is not randon .
The takeaway from this blog is that all manner of photography can inform and influence your Street photography , Street is not terribly forgiving , if you miss it first time , it’s gone !
Landscape photography really can help you to develop essential skills without the pressure that the Street demands , in short chill out in the landscape if your not feeling it on the streets at the moment and create at your own pace , its important to keep firing the shutter and maintaining your skills …
Landscape photography will afford you a first , second and third chance to get it right …
It will also put a smile on your face , what’s not to like …
Before I sign off from this blog I’d to do a quick “Hello” plug to a fellow photographer Tim Scanlan who I met “randomly” in my local wood the other day , check out his work at https://timscanlanphotography.com ,