A Swiss heron on the shores of Lake Zurich takes a bow as picture of the day, courtesy of the husband of Dropscone’s niece Hilary.
Once again, the weather in the picture of the day couldn’t have been further away from yet another dismal day here. The one redeeming feature is that it is far from chilly but this only serves to annoy me more because my obstinate cold is very slow in making its departure. It was better today so I hope that if it stops raining tomorrow, I might sneak out for a very short, very gentle pedal.
In spite of the 35 extra seconds of daylight today, the light was still rotten and even staring out of the kitchen window wasn’t much fun. You could just see a bird or two of you peered carefully.
This meant that I had plenty of time to read the helpful books on landscape photography that my children had given me for Christmas. One of the books is a useful primer, one is a coffee table book book of prizewinning landscape photos and one is a series of essays on the intellectual and artistic basis for landscape photography. As a result of reading this third book, I have learned that almost the worst sin that a would be landscape photographer can do is to take recognisable pictures of landscapes. Hm. The other books lead to necessary expenditure. Hm again.
Still, all the books are packed with good ideas and inspiration so all that is needed now is hours of practice and a few days of good weather. Don’t hold your breath.
The day brightened up a fraction…
…but not enough to catch a really good flying shot. I had to stick close to the feeder where the birds slow down..
There were the usual scenes of domestic violence…
…and desperate footwork.
In fact, for a moment after a light lunch (turkey patties) the day looked promising enough for me to get my shoes on for a walk. Then it started to rain of course so I went back to reading. Mrs Tootlepedal was out in her coat in the garden, testing out the metal detector. She found a number of interesting items but has yet to uncover the Roman treasure which she knows lies under our soil. ‘Dum spiro, spero’ is her Latin motto.
Alistair and Clare drove off to Glasgow on their way to a New Year in Ireland and Mrs Tootlepedal and I were left on our own. The house seemed very quiet.
Tomorrow the daylight is going to be 43 seconds longer than today. I can hardly control my wild enthusiasm.
I did find a flying bird though so the day can’t have been totally bad.
We’ll be spending a few days in the mountains, and I’ll attempt to follow the landscape instructions of nothing recognizable in my photography. Hoping for snow… it always makes things much less distinct.
I look forward to the mysterious but spiritually fulfilling results. A few nice snapshots too would be welcome.
I think if you see something that you love about a landscape photograph, many others will see it too. I gave up on the “rules” in photography books and go with what I see and enjoy.That’s not to say that I don’t value and learn from books-just that I don’t let them dictate what I take pictures of. I’ve thought that several of your landscapes were really breath taking and I say keep up the good work!
I sometimes resort to literary affectations and slight exaggerations and I can assure you that if I try any arty shots they will not materially interrupt the flow of attempts at lovely scenes.
I hope you will disseminate the information gleaned from those books so that we don’t have to read them ourselves!
If I could understand them properly, I would. I am aiming to stick to my policy of point and shoot but I certainly will try to learn as I go and I will pass on anything I find useful. The main lesson seems to be always use a tripod.
You should have come with us seven, who had a good days golf at the Woll Golf club. Sun and good company and no charge. A Christmas present from Nick Brown, the owner.
I am glad you had a good day out.
Sorry the weather is so depressing, perhaps tomorrow it will be brighter and drier! I enjoyed the birds though, especially the ones in the plum tree, as I may have mentioned before.
“…to take recognisable pictures of landscapes.” The umpteenth picture of the “been there – seen that” will shurely not win awards – Just show the world as YOU see it will make your photographs unique. So just keep up your good work!
Thank you….but there is always room for improvement.
I agree with the New Hampshire Gardener, I’ve loved your photos of the Scottish countryside, they’ve made me want to pay a visit someday. (Scotland, not you
) I don’t know if posting a link in a comment will work, but you may want to check out this blog on landscape photography.
http://lightscapesphotography.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/images-of-meaning/
It worked. Thank you.