Another day begins in Fleurie

[Donald]

This is one of the series from my recent holiday/vacation in the Beaujolais area of France.

This was taken exactly 1 hour 15 minutes later (at 6:33am) and from almost the exact same spot as this one (in which we discuss how the chapel overlooks the village and the vineyard)

As always, your comments are welcomed.


40D, 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 97mm. ISO100. 1/6@f16

[jiro]

Very nice shot, Donald. I knew that there is something quite unique in the way you process your b&w images and of course your signature square crop. I know that I have seen this type of photography before but I can't seem to pinpoint exactly where, until recently. Looking at the early 1930's and the late 1920 photographs, that's where I find a lot of similarity on the processing that you do but not on the style of photography. Your style is quite unique but I see a definite similarity on the way you process your work and the type of images within that era. This reminded me of the last photography book I borrowed featuring the works of Walker Evans.

[Katy Noelle]

I was just thinking how it looked like Donald's, too. I always have the sense that, even though there's lots to see - maybe, lots of detail, still, everything is in it's place. It all just fits perfectly together - no more - no less than what should be. This is beautiful, I think. I love the patchwork of the fields and the detail that I can see in the vineyard plot just beyond the village. It's the ordinary/everyday with that touch or romantic magic. (Oh, am I wiffling?)

[Donald]

Willie - thank you for your comments.

As I've written on here before, I love the work of such as Paul Strand, who was working in the period you mentioned. The idea of choosing subjects suited to working more with a range of midtones rather than extremes of black and white, appeals to me enormously. Many of my images have neither black nor white in them, which, of course, goes completely against perceived wisdom that you must cover the entire light spectrum for Monochrome images in order to get the necessary contrast.

I love this very early morning, very low contrast light. It gives a mood and an atmosphere of, I think, calmness and serenity.

I hope I am giving it a contemporary twist and am not subconsciously trying to recreate 1920s/1930s images. That's always the concern when you know that your own work is being informed by work of that time.

As for the square crop - I keep telling myself that it's a phase I'm going through and will grow out of it! But I'm an entranced by it. On this recent vacation, everything I shot was done with a square image in mind. So, I am composing in the viewfinder or Liveview screen for a square image and effectively disregarding what is in the rest of the frame at the time of capture. Out of the 49 I now have in the 'Possibles' folder (that will be drastically reduced), I have 2 or 3 at a 4:5 ratio, a couple at 7:5 and the rest are all 1:1 (square).

[manthos]

Very beautiful image! I like it how the church stands out from all the rest, in my eyes at least. And as it is viewed from the back side, it looks like it observes all the peaceful scenery in front of it.

[FrankMi]

Nice shot Donald. Very effective use of atmospheric haze adds a kind of Bokeh effect!

[rpcrowe]

Hi Donald...
I love the depth that the haze in the distance contrasting with the sharper buildings in the foreground provides.

[Donald]

Thank you Katy, Giannis, Frank and Richard.

Re using the haze to emphasise distance, Michael Freeman discusses this at page 116 of 'The Complete Guide to Black & White Digital Photography', ILEX, 2009, when he states, "One of the most valuable hue controls in black-and-white photography is altering the sense of depth in a landscape shot. The technique, as old as panochromatic film, relies on passing or blocking blue, which increases the depth of atmosphere."

I have made a few images on this holiday/vacation that are similar in terms of being very early morning and in which I'm trying to pick up the haze over the vineyards. Am still working on those.

[ScoutR]

I love this Donald, but I'm wondering if more contrast in the foreground might be nicer. I love the distant haze, but somehow to me the villiage does not look hazy, but well, just a little flat. Probably just a personal preference but thought I'd chime in with my 2 cents

Wendy

[Wirefox]

Donald, I have kept coming back to this one. On the face of it I thought it lacked contrast...and to some extent it does but literally as I was coming back to it I saw it from a distance from my screen. It hit me then this is one of those images that needs to be viewed at a reasonable distance to appreciate the subtlety hazy top half of the image complementing the sharp foreground. This would work wonders in large format in a gallery setting. One thing I do hesitate on is what I will term the mellow yellow b/w conversion. I think a smidgen more blue would give a cleaner image - thats personal preference though.

[Donald]

This would work wonders in large format in a gallery setting.

You've helped me realise that this is indeed the case (well, if not a gallery then at least my wall above where I sit at this computer)

Wendy - at the same time as doing a version in which I tweak the blue as per the directions above, I'll put a mask on it and ever-so-slightly give the contrast a nudge up. And stand back to see what it looks like.

Thanks for commenting.