When I chose contrast for the theme for February, I actually had a particular shot in mind. With bushfires throughout the Adelaide hill in January, February would be the perfect time to capture the contrast between the death and destruction of the bushfires and the regeneration of new life.
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New life |
In my mind I pictured a shot of a blackened tree stump with new leaves springing from it, glowing in the evening light. Well, life has a way of getting in the way of the best intentions, and it wasn't until March that I actually got a chance to try my hand at the shot I wanted.
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A precarious position |
Unfortunately, it was an opportunistic shot and the lighting was really ideal, being mid afternoon on an overcast day. I was also trying to take a shot next to a main road, so I had to be a little careful about where I stood! Ultimately, the photo's didn't turn out how I wanted them to, however it was still good to capture the changes that my local area was undergoing. I do like the contrast between the almost white new leaves and the dark, charred tree, though it was difficult to keep the texture detail in the photograph while focusing on the contrast.
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Contrast 1 |
The scale at which to take the photograph was also a difficult choice. I wanted to focus in on the contrast between life and death, but did I need to include more background, to give the scale of death some reference? While I took some shots like this, I ended up favouring the close ups, as they seemed to capture the life/death, light/dark combinations better.
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Contrast 2 |
One of the things I do love about this picture is the way the leaves almost glow as the light hits them. Admittedly, there was a bit of tweaking to bring it out, but it's not unknown in real life to see our native trees glowing in the evening light.
The photos aren't too bad considering they were on a point and click in less than ideal settings and I suspect they'll act as great inspiration to try and capture the luminescent quality of our native vegetation a little better.
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Ninja Waldo |
While I tried to capture the transient nature of, well, nature, Brett tried to capture a stationary Dalmatian! I'm not sure who had the hardest job, but he made use of his new studio toys exceedingly well to capture "Ninja Waldo". I think Brett definitely captured contrast best, but Waldo does give him an unfair advantage!