late.. I was late..
this evening started after an busy office day and I was very uncreative, but I had one image in my mind to photograph that evening. started my walk so late, I almost didn’t believe to get to the spot in time. as I rushed up the hill to my desired spot I could see the light fade away of the rooftops down in the village. but there was still time to reach the spot before the sun was to low to take the image. my only question was: “will I still make it?”
there was no time to setup the tripod and I ended up taking the image with no support and all the shake of my stupidly pumping body and lungs after rushing up the hill. best condition to take a still image.. after checking the image on the display of my camera I was very confident that the image turned out sharp and without any shake.. but it wasn’t the first attempt to take an image at least I took 4 images before I realised I didn’t turn on the lens stabilisation.. thanks to the possibility of the modern technology I was able to have more than one chance to take the image and yes, fujifilm implemented a perfect stabilisation for this lens!
after the confidence the planned image turned out well, there was no rush for more. all of it was an addition to the first image and no pressure at all. I just walked around and let me inspire what the nature will show me and what the sky would look like. I wasn’t expecting much, because it was a boring, almost cloud free sky and the setting sun didn’t highlight any clouds for my images. with that cognition, I had to change my mind about my suspects and then discovered all the shadows and silhouettes of the trees in the fields.
with a colorful backlight the trees were completely black and it was a beautiful contrast to catch some interesting scenes..
many times we passed that tree during some sunday walks and it catched my attention, but I couldn’t find the perfect angle and good light to photograph it. tonight I was very happy with the conditions.
the walking person was disturbing me first, because the scene didn’t look natural and untouched as I wanted it to present. at the end I decided this image was perfect, it is the perfect representation where these trees are located.. next to a frequently accessed road where many people take some time out and go for a walk on the hillside.
in comparison the same scene as above, but without any human in the image. to reduce it I decided for a black and white conversion to play with the contrasts.
while photographing the trees in the background and moving my position for a better framing this (dead) flower was moving into position.. i wanted to keep it out of the frame, but then it cathed my attention.. and voilà it ended up being my main subject..
at least the vista I saw when I approached the fireplace. beautiful color in the sky and some fog in the valley, what to expect more? the steam in the background is a result of the nuclear powerplant it doesn’t disturb too much, but there’s no reason to remove it of the scene, it is part of it. as a photographer I can deal with it or not take a picture at all..
finally I reached the fireplace where I planned to take more photos of the vista, but it was so cold and windy it wasn’t the best idea.. anyway to late to light up a fire, my family was waiting to have lunch..
of course.. heading home, empty stomach and a good meal in mind i passed another tree which I couldn’t resist because the color in the sky was soooo good! in the black part of the sky right above the tree a star was already shining and telling us the night was here.. stop taking images.. move home man..
with the confidence, that I squeezed the most out of this evening i was finally on my way home, looking to where the journey started.. and yes another time I saw these profiles of the trees and the fence surrounding them in a deep red tinted and dark sky.. ok the last scene tonight.. fortunately theres a small hut that blocks the freezing wind and I was able to take my time to photograph the final scene.
out there the temperature dropped below zero and a relentless wind accompanied my journey. my hands were freezing, almost unable to operate the camera (wimp!!). at least I was very happy to be back home , have dinner and end up the evening with my family.
the end, good night.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful time.
Patrick Humm
Capture the light, share the moment.
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[kofi]
