"Fade to Grey" (White Rose)

This is a good example of how I set out to create a specific image but changed my mind during post-processing and ended up with something rather different. The initial idea was to create a "perfect" rose, with front-to-back tack-sharp focus. After many attempts to create "perfection" through processing (a lost cause if ever there was one!), much soul-searching and even more thinking... finally I let go and let the picture "talk" to me, the processing revealed my feelings. Moral: less talking and more listening!

The final image is about transition and sublimation: the further you move away from a focussed core the more diffuse things become, perhaps a metaphor for (my) life. I like the simplicity associated with the hi-key look; however, beyond any aesthetic considerations I have to admit I deliberately hid the flower’s imperfections. Looking back, I wonder if this was an (unconscious) attempt to hide my own?

Composition Notes: Although I mainly shoot landscape, occasionally I like to experiment with still life and pure abstract. This was one of my first attempts to use a technique known as focus stacking: the final picture is a composite of 5 shots, each with a slightly different point of focus, combined to increase the overall depth-of-field. (Anyone who has experimented with macro photography, or indeed simply tried to take a close-up, will have noticed how the apparent depth-of field – the area in focus – diminishes the closer you get to your subject.)

Unfortunately, I was not completely happy with the combined image. This was partly because the software I used to combine the images changed some of the colours during the stacking process and the result, no matter how much I tried to tweak and adjust it, was less than satisfactory. The colours looked over-saturated and the overall effect was, frankly, “kitsch”. Something else I hadn't expected (but should have): stacking photos tends to accentuate any imperfections in the subject – in this case some blemishes on the petals that I had barely noticed before.

For whatever reason, "Fade to Grey", a song by the 1980's group Visage kept running through my mind during post-processing. I've no idea why. Suddenly my vision became clear – a black & white photo, sharp in the centre and losing definition towards the edges to hide those blemishes – my own Fade to Grey. The final image reminds me of a charcoal drawing.

The photo was mounted in a custom-built, 42 cm square (ca. 16.5") wooden frame. A double passepartout (two mats) added a small, but important physical distance between the photo and the (non-reflective) glass; it creates a strong sense of depth and draws the eye into the subject. (The effect is hard to see in a snapshot such as the one below.) I’d like to be able to say this was my idea but actually it was the suggestion of a very nice lady in Mary's Bilderladen, the shop I use to frame most of my pictures 😊

“My Lady d'Arbanville” (Statue)

A somewhat sad and melancholic song, “My Lady d’Arbanville” was written and sung by a popular folk-singer called Cat Stevens in 1970 (at least he was popular in Britain when I was a child). Recently I read the lyrics are about the end of a relationship but I had always imagined the words as describing the dying moments of a Noble Lady of times long past, surrounded by her loyal servants. My intention for this photo was to stress the peace and serenity in the after-life. (I do not follow a specific religion but that doesn't mean I am irreligious.)

This photo, together with a tree I shot on Mallorca, is one of the most personal (and for me, emotional) pictures I have ever taken. It was raining and the weather matched my mood; I was far from home and in a deep crises triggered by an unexpected divorce, the loss of financial security and trying – but failing – to come to terms with another, recently failed relationship. During those dark days I asked myself on many occasions whether I could ever know peace again in my life.

Composition Notes: I knew before taking this picture exactly what I wanted to capture, the lady, the negative space to the left and the trees in the background. Nevertheless, at first I struggled to decide on overall exposure – mood, if you like –  and with the exact placement of the lady within the frame (hence I left plenty of space around her during capture). The exposure of the version that I initially hung on my wall is at least one stop less than the final version; it reflected my depressed mood at the time. Now I have brightened it up a little – perhaps I feel a little more optimistic about life than when I took the photo? After receiving feedback from Rafael Rojas (see Recommendations) I also added more blur to everything except the lady's face, thus emphasising the dreamlike quality of the image. 

“Ode to Rorschach” (Aue Park Trees)

Almost subconsciously I look for patterns and, in particular symmetry. It's probably the engineer in me...

Composition Notes: I liked the reflections seen in the original photo but was struggling with the colours. Somehow the combination of browns, greens and (to a lesser extent) the blues/grey did not feel harmonious. By chance, while experimenting with different ways to process another photo (canoeists on the river Fulda, another photo in the same gallery (Trees, Rivers & Lakes) I had the idea of applying a sepia look to give this photo a sense of timelessness. My goal was to reduce the image as much as possible to it’s basic, graphical elements while retaining the symmetry, and to project a sense of nostalgia that I felt at the time.

Initially I was very happy with this sepia look (Figure 2 below), however the light vignetting around the edges of the image were a concern. Some people felt that because the human eye is naturally drawn to light, these edges could compete with and ultimately distract from other compositional elements that help to draw the eye inwards to the centre tree. Therefore I tried an alternative processing in which I introduced some blurring to reduce sharpness towards the edges instead of using luminosity as a vignetting effect (Figure 3); I have both versions framed and hanging on adjacent walls in my apartment. Overall, I think I still prefer the first sepia version.