#StandWithUkraine

pars pro toto

i am not the person for rain pictures, so in spite of carrying the camera around today, no shots that deserve better then the ‘immediate delete’ section. resorting to monday’s picture taken during heavy snowfall in the spa garden, i was pondering my options and finally went for the detail: snow and snowfall is more present here, no concurrence with the shape of the tree, valid in itself and therefore distracting from the snow.

pars pro toto(2) of course the concept of dense photography, discussed a short while back on the landscapist and nobodys pictures would recommend a less simple approach, including more information, verbatim background information, but at the moment i am favouring more straightforward compositions, more removing additional elements then adding them.

pars pro toto(3) what i try to find and portray through isolation are the simple, clear things – in spite of knowing that our world is neither clear nor simple. but let me put it that way: if i can recognize the simple things of value, then i can open up my understanding to the complex ones. if i would start with the complex ones, i would get nowhere because of too much distraction. instead i would stop with this subject and turn to the next.

2 comments

  1. Same here – snow beats rain any time (photographically speaking).

    The toning of the photos is perfect! A tad melancholic, and works great with the snowy motives.

    From a compositional perspective, in my mind the simplicity (aka conscious focus on one motiv) is the only approach that works for those snow-covered trees. The inherent complexity of the snowy pattern on the branches provides enough detail to let the eyes wander and explore. The dark tree trunk in the background provides a nice counterbalance and tonal contrast.

    From a more philosophical perspective, I would completely agree that the conscious isolation of important elements from a scene and its photographic interpretation is usually more rewarding than the catch-all-you-can-squeeze-on-your-sensor approach.

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