In the bleak mid winter

Click to enlarge

Well, not really but the black and white images kind of suited the title! In the last few days I've been walking Ferb at the "Flashes" as they're known locally. This is shortened from the Ashton's and Neumann's Flashes, an area of reclaimed land that was heavily mined in the 18th and 19th centuries leading to serious subsidence, forming craters and the creation of lakes where the River Weaver flowed into them. Today it's a rather unique site where some seaside plants thrive due to the high salt levels and it's rich with birdlife, butterflies and dragonflies. There are several circular walks that link to the wider Northwich Woodlands and it's easy to walk to Marbury Park and the Anderton Boat Lift. From most points you are reminded of the industrial heritage of Northwich by the dramatic factories on the horizon with  pipes and chimneys pumping out steam.

As you can imagine it's a great place to walk, with a multitude of circular routes to choose from and real variety of scenery - woodland, canals, lakes, meadows and rivers. And of course it presents tons of lovely photographic opportunities. During today's walk we met many other dog walkers but also lots of people out and about with their cameras attracted by fresh snowfall, clear blue skies and the threat of a thaw within 24 hours.

I didn't end up taking many photos, as I was simply enjoying the walk, watching Ferb's highly comical run - his back legs seem so much longer than the front ones and he lollops clumsily along but somehow at high speed. When I got back and looked at my shots I decided to have a go at thinking square again - admittedly I didn't shoot them with this intention but I'll allow it as another useful exercise. (If you don't know what on earth I'm talking about you need to look back at my last two posts).

I thought the images looked a bit flat and monotone so I experimented with some black and white conversion as well as the square cropping. I like the results but am not blown away. Looking forward to more walks over the coming weeks and more photo opportunities.

I've written about the Northwich Flashes before - I was shocked to see it was 4 years ago almost to the day. Click here to read what I thought back then - apologies that the pictures aren't there - I think Blogger ate them as I couldn't have deleted them as I wouldn't even know where they go I've posted them! I'm going to root out some photos I've taken in the last 4 years and post them.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Think like a square

First stage of Project Square: to look back at existing images and see if any of them work if they are re-cropped as square rather than rectangular. The aim of this exercise is to start to train my mind to think of composition in terms of a square. I didn't realise how firmly entrenched the rectangular format was until I looked back through my portfolio of 366 images for ones I could crop square. The majority of the shots would simply not work as a square - a critical element would be lost and the picture spoilt. I automatically fill the rectangular viewfinder when I take a picture. I was reassured to find that this means I am considering composition all the time, even though I'm not always aware of it.

I did find some shots that could be cropped with interesting results. Fans of the square image maintain that it focuses the attention more immediately on the subject, as the eye cannot stray away to the left or right, or to the top or bottom. In some cases it has changed the feel of the photograph, made it more immediate. Take a look and see what you think. Click on each set of images to enlarge.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

All squared up for 2013

After completing the 366 project in 2012 and deciding not to carry on this year I've been twiddling my thumbs a bit, itching to embark on something else, but it had to be less time consuming and a little more flexible, but still challenging.

I was catching up on some reading over the weekend, thawing out after a romp in the snow with the dog and came across an e-book I had downloaded over Christmas. It's called "Square" by a photographer and author Andrew Gibson and looks at images that are square as opposed to the more usual rectangular format. Aside from featuring some really beautiful photography this book looks into the increasing popularity of square images and gives some great pointers into what makes them work.

We are so used to the rectangular format that unless we have a camera (e.g. a medium format camera) or  an app (Instagram etc) that creates a square image, we forget to consider anything else. It's perhaps the amazing popularity of the Instagram type photo that has contributed to a re-appreciation of the square image.

I took a look back at my 366 images and could only find a handful that were square, excluding those that I had taken with a retro camera app on my phone - you can tell which these are as they feature a border. I didn't create any of the non-retro camera images with the intention of them being square - I decided to do that afterwards on the computer, so I wasn't really setting out to shoot and compose for square images.

Click to enlarge

The square format has got me buzzing with excitement and now my thumbs are twitching rather than twiddling. During 2013 I am going to create a series of images that are square and intended to be square from the outset - I'll be specifically looking for subjects and compositions that work for the square format. I'm not setting any timescales or boundaries, other than I'll work on it throughout the year. As and when I take an image I am happy with I'll share it on this blog and ask for feedback.

You can download "Square" by Andrew Gibson (and other great e-books from him and other authors) at Craft and Vision. Each book costs around £2 to £4 and they often sell bundles together. I love the fact that I can download them to my tablet and read them wherever I am. I've not bought a bad one yet - they are highly readable, not too techie and the imagery is stunning. I've not been paid to say this, they don't even know I'm recommending them!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!