Walking through Ayscoughee Hall Gardens in Spalding, Lincolnshire, recently our route took us behind the Lutyens war memorial. There we came upon some wonderful shadows made by the perfect conjunction of low sun, clear sky, trees and a white, rendered wall. There was a light breeze gently disturbing the autumn leaves, dislodging one every now and then, causing it to drift down from the branches onto the grass below. In front of us was the large shadow, also perceptibly stirring, some parts sharp, others soft, looking like a black and white movie projected onto a big outdoor screen.
I'm partial to good shadows; they feature frequently in my photographs. Not everyone, I'm sure, sees the attraction that I perceive in them. To me they are one of the great blessings of photographing in sunlight. If I lived in a country where the sun shone much more than it does in the British Isles I'd make shadows a really strong feature of my photography, such is the power that they can add to an image. As it is I use them where and when I can.
Today's shadows, to my mind, offer subtlety, softness and quiet interest rather than drama,but I like them nonetheless.
For more photographs featuring shadows see this violin , this winter tree shadow, this palm and this bicycle stand.
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/400
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
