Sometimes it pays to take another look

[James G]

I was on the road heading to Bridgenorth, just pass Quatt/Dudmaston,before Christmas (16th), and I caught a very brief glimpse of a small lake through trees. The light was good and on a whim I turned round, went back and spent about 30 mins wandering around. Here are a few of the shots I captured...

#1


#2


#3


#4


It's a bit early but....Happy New Year to all!

[Shadowman]

Nice ones.

[Tony M]

It looks like a nice area; good on you for stopping and getting out of the car. I sometimes do that when driving on my own, but with family in the car wanting to arrive at our destination it's not so easy.

Of the photos you posted, I like #3 the most. The branches in the four corners lead the eye to the centre, which is the most interesting part. Nice composition.

The first two photos don't hold my interest. They serve as a memory of the views but for me they don't have the same compositional qualities as #3. I find the twigs and branches a distraction from the bright colours of the berries, which should be the main element of the photo.

#4 is also a nice photo, which in my opinion could be better if the branches at the top right were out of the frame, and there was more of the line of trees at the right in the frame. But each person wants something different from a photo, and that's just my opinion.

Taking these photos home was definitely worth the 30 minutes delay to your trip.

Tony

[JBW]

#2 gets my vote, 'The Promise Of Things To Come'

[bnnrcn]

A nice location James #4 is my fav. I would crop the vertical row of branches next to the left frame though.

[JohnRostron]

I like them all, though for different reasons in each case. I particularly like #2. Were these Woody Nightshade Berries?

John

[madcrow]

I like them all. #2 for me.

[Geoff F]

You have managed to keep the foreground sharply focused with plenty of overall depth to the scene; so well done.

[Craigie]

A nice set of images, I am going with majority (so far), #2 for me.

[James G]

Thanks all for your comments.

The first two photos don't hold my interest. They serve as a memory of the views but for me they don't have the same compositional qualities as #3. I find the twigs and branches a distraction from the bright colours of the berries, which should be the main element of the photo.

Re-examining, following the above comment I'll probably try a tighter crop since the berries are a major compositional element. However I was also interested in the tonal contrasts of the background areas. Twigs and branches unavoidable I'm afraid since I was already just about to slip into the lake

Were these Woody Nightshade Berries?

I'm not the greatest botanist, but yes I'm pretty sure they are. Bitter Sweet has very similar berries but from memory they are more oval. (Also not likely to be in this area)