Today's post manages to encapsulate two of my recent themes. It is an "incidental" shot taken at Bolsover Castle. Not one of the obvious architectural photographs that such a place inspires, but a detail, a "photographer's shot" if you will. It is also semi-abstract which I recently described as one of the genres I often return to when I'm trying to get back into the "groove" with my photography.
The stone is part of the moulding (architrave) of a doorway made in the seventeenth century. The figuring in the stone reminds me of the burr and strong grain that characterises some woods. However, when I first saw it the first word to come to mind was "landscape". The curves, shading and lines remind me of Japanese watercolour landscapes of the sort that Hokusai and Hiroshige produced. All it requires is a few trees, a wooden bridge, a river winding its way between the hills, and a few people going about their work and it's there. It's the sort of piece of stone that you can get lost in, in much the same way that as children we often dive into the landscapes, faces and more in wallpaper and curtain fabrics. I've noticed such landscapes in trees, with silver birch being the best at suggesting them.
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 100mm (150mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO:640
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
