You can see more images from the wood here...
No, not lost in the woods, but the last three years (almost) I have spent in the woods shooting with the gear I have. Let me explain…
If you have read any of my past blogs, you’ll know that I started regular walks in the wood, when Covid arrived. The wood seemed a better place to walk rather the through my neigbourhood, listening to my Walkman. I should clarify something here - I love walking and listening to music, I’ve done it for years, but the first time I walked through the wood with my Walkman on, was also the last time I used my Walkman in the woods. Why? You ask…well the answer is very simple. Although I love listening to music, the woods, for me, was not the place. I became disconnected to the wood, the sounds and feel of where I was and I didn’t enjoy the lack of awareness. The pleasure of the music I was listening to and the sensations of the wood were both gone! The wood became the place I only take my camera, and sometimes my wife, when I can persuade her to come, I don’t think she’s fond of my camera!
When I’m walking with my camera, I do feel aware of my environment and I can spend hours in there if I have found something interesting or pursuing an idea. Last week it dawned on me that after three years I was still finding myself looking forward to going there and trying something different. A good part of the interest lay in how and what I go out to shoot with. Let me explain…
With the arrival of Covid and my daily forays into the wood, I had three cameras I regularly shot with. I had my Sony system and a good few lenses, four that I had shot with in the woods, but only two used on a regular basis. I also had a couple of Fuji bodies and a couple of lenses. The Sony saw more use initially, but that changed when I bought a couple of adaptors for my Fujis. Now I could use my old manual focus Olympus and Nikon glass – mostly primes. A short time later, they were joined by a couple of M42 Super Takumars and a Helios – these made a difference – I could also use them on my Sony! My Sony A99V is not a mirrorless camera, it’s an SLT full frame, it has focus peeking and the Super Takumars and Helios mounted on the Sony body were absolutely fantastic!
You’re getting the picture now…there are lots of variables here…the time of day, the quality of light, different seasons, the many faceted aspects of the wood itself – leaves, water, mushrooms, gnomes, trees, grasses, wood stumps…people I meet along the way, ideas I might have, ideas someone else has…etc. Then there’s my equipment. By now, two more vintage manual focus primes have been added along with another, more recent, Fuji body. Yes, you’ve got it! Along with the variables I’ve just mentioned (and there are more), regarding the environment, there are the myriad of combinations I have with different bodies and lenses.
I’m not shooting award winning material, not at all! I’m shooting in the wood for my own pleasure, my own projects, documenting the wood I live across from and love. I also learnt, very quickly, that I wasn’t getting my steps in…a mile usually takes me about an hour, when I have my camera with me.
There’s a lot of trial and sometimes error, some combinations of gear, under different conditions work better than others. There are many occasions when I will deliberately go out with a certain body and lens combination to see how I can make the most of that combination, the light and my ability to use all the aspects as best as I can. There are times when I’m actively pursuing a project or an idea. Other times I simply pick a body and a lens with no particular idea in mind, just seeing what my trip yields. Having said all of this, it is important to remember that whatever I’m armed with, I try my best to do the best job I can…and sometimes, should I feel that another piece of gear or combination is better suited, I aim to return with it, in the hope the light and condition are favourable to the settings I have just encountered. Sometimes, the moment is gone forever.
I have a number of old vintage manual focus lenses now, one of which, added this year, is a 28mm F2.8 MD mount Soligar. It’s built like a tank and for its size is one of my heaviest lenses. It’s soft, lacks contrast, but produces a dreamy quality and when used to take out-of-focus images, renders colours and feelings really well – providing there’s scope for specular highlights. Wide open, in these conditions, the bokeh is good (for a 28mm) and stepping the lens down a stop or two produces ninja stars – the only lens I own that does this.
As I have said, or written before…none of my wood work – no I haven’t done any since school, I mean my wood images…projects started life consciously – not at all. My first few (regular) trips into the woods just began with me carrying a camera, with no thought at all. In fact, I do remember thinking, beautiful as the wood is, there is nothing special in there, no areas of great beauty or majestic landscapes. It’s just the wood across the road, how on earth do I take images that aren’t boring, how can I take images that are different from everyone else in there taking photographs (to date, after three years, I have only met four!). It is about learning to see, keeping your mind open and thinking differently…and lots of practice.
The wood has been a good project for me, it’s yielded a large body of work over the three years and the wood has given me a great deal of pleasure. After three years, I still look forward to going out early in the morning (my favourite time), with a camera and walking in the woods.
You can see more images from the wood here...
Three years in the woods…no, it’s not going to be turned into a blockbuster movie, good title though! Hang on a second, why not! I could juice it up a bit. Let me explain…