Most good landscape photographers are expressive photographers. They express emotion, mood and atmosphere through their images. They make clever use of light, contrast and drama to accurately convey in a photograph what they see and feel while out with their camera.
Many other types of photographers also make good use of prevailing weather conditions and careful choice of subject to express themselves through their photography.
One important ingredient seems to be common to all these photographers and that is that they spend time in a place, with their subject, getting a ‘feel’ for their surroundings, having a sense of place, being in tune with what is all around them. They do this by observing closely, listening to the sounds of a place, feeling the mood being created by the location. They look to re-create this mood and atmosphere in their images by their choice of composition, their use of light and shadow, and by their chosen focal length and perspective.
I kept this idea in mind recently when I took a winter walk on a quiet country road. I hadn’t been in the exact location before so I had no idea what to expect or if there would be any photographic opportunities available, but I was glad to just enjoy a walk.
The first thing I noticed was the relative silence of the morning. The air was still and cold, the trees were motionless and no birds were singing. The only noticeable sound was the hum of traffic in the distance.
Winter had definitely arrived.
Leaves had stopped falling and the trees were bare. Squirrels were no longer scampering around, their winter preparations finished. No farm animals were in the fields. Pine cones were in abundance along the roadside under a small copse of pine trees, and the winter sun was creating an occasional small patch of light in an otherwise dull, lifeless environment.
This was what I tuned into as I walked along. Any images I made would reflect this winter scene; the quiet beauty, the feeling of nature resting, the lack of light, the sombre mood.
My walk took me through a rural agricultural area and along a pathway to a canal lock gate.
Here are some images I created along the way as an expression of my thoughts and feelings on that morning. They will not win any photography prizes and in fact many photographers would not go out on a day that was so lacking in light.
But that is not the point. The point is that they tell a story, a story of a place and time just as it was. I hope you like them.
Damage from the recent Storm Darragh
Although there were many modern houses and farm buildings along the route, I like to focus on old, abandoned buildings to capture the character and history of a place. They convey a sense of a time that is gone yet speak of past human endeavour and influence on the rural landscape that still exists.
On some farmlands the old buildings stand alongside the new and they mark a continuation as well as a change of farming methods in rural areas.
Final Thoughts
Many people find winter photography to be difficult, particularly on dull, dark days of which there can be many.
Expressive photography has an answer for this.
Expressive Photography is about expressing our thoughts and feelings through our images. In that sense, the lack of light doesn’t matter as we are trying to create the prevailing mood and atmosphere in the photographs we make. We are attempting to convey our feelings, our mood, our response to our environment. These are very personal images, they have a deep connection to our soul, and we are making them for ourselves.
Yet as we tune in to our environment and respond through our photography to the emotions and thoughts that are stirred within us, the images we create will surely resonate with others also.
Why not try some expressive photography for yourself.
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