March 13, 2013

Bridges become frames for looking at the world around us.  – Bruce Jackson

FOCUS:  Landscape (Black & White)

Today, I happened upon the Carson Nature Center, which backs up to open space along the South Platte River.  This area boasts sweeping views of the nearby Colorado mountains and sits exposed to the glorious wide open sky.  Because I was scouting locations for an upcoming portrait session, I had my camera with me, so I decided to take advantage of my situation and knock off a few ‘photos of the day’.  Although the area was quite beautiful, I found myself frustrated in trying to capture the scene in a way that was appealing to me.  Landscape photography is not in my comfort zone, and every shot I took seemed to be lacking something.  The images I was capturing made for fine ‘pictures’, but they didn’t necessarily invite anyone in for a second view.  After a little while, I realized what I needed to do.  I needed to give my photos a ‘point of view’, so that the viewer felt they had an active role in the scene.  That was when I decided to frame this beautiful open landscape within the confines of a pedestrian bridge.  It seems counter intuitive to close in such a wide open space, but in the end, I think it actually gives the image a sense of freedom and anticipation.  I also chose to process this image in black & white so that the eye can focus on the patterns and lines in their most elementary form.

As a comparison, I have included a full color landscape image that I took of the same area.  While I do like the photo below, it simply doesn’t have the same appeal to me as the black & white photo above.  I’d be curious to know if others have the same preference as me.