Nature and the city

click photo to enlarge

Everything visible in this photograph is man-made except the trees, the river and the sky. The part of London in which it was taken has been extensively redeveloped in recent years. Riverside flats, offices, hotels and a few "service" type buildings - shops, pubs, etc, dominate the area. Concrete, steel, brick and glass are the principal materials of this man-made environment. Much of what has been erected is unremarkable, some is good architecture, and some should never have left the drawing board. Were the buildings all that was to be seen, then it would be a fairly grim place. But, there has been a conscious effort made to incorporate natural planting.

What grows in this part of London's redeveloped Docklands is, by and large, what has been deliberately put there. In the area where I took this photograph the streets are lined with trees, often London Plane, trimmed to keep them down to a manageable size - like the pair in my image. In small corners of paved areas beds with hardy shrubs - eleagnus, cotoneaster, etc - have been inserted. The odd grassed area has been inserted to soften up some of the block-paving. Individual houses display plants of their owners' choosing in the small walled gardens in front, and more extensive private gardens fill the centres of apartment complexes. Balconies often have pots and baskets of shrubs, perennials and annuals. And then there are the larger scale, green, public and semi-public areas. Near to the location of my shot is the Surrey Docks City Farm, a collection of animals and vegetable gardens that seeks to educate local families about food production and animal husbandry. Across Salter Road is Stave Hill Ecological Park, a 5.2 acres linear area of trees, grass, water and carefully nurtured wild planting, that comes as a surprise to a visitor to the area. Walking through it the other weekend I saw woodpeckers!

It seems that mankind has a need for the green randomness and beauty of plants. Architects, of course, value their irregularity as a foil for the straight lines of their buildings. And photographers can also benefit from the juxtaposition of a natural shape and a rectilinear building in creating contrast and tension within a composition.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/00
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Clouds over Sutterton

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If you were to invent a "Forces of Nature Scale", somewhat analagous to the Beaufort Scale of wind speed, where 0 equals Calm and 12 equals Hurricane, with ever rising numbers and speed between, what would you place at 12? A volcano? An earthquake? A tsunami? It would probably be one of those, though if we extended the scale beyond 12 (as the Beaufort Scale has been in China and elsewhere to take account of tropical cyclones), then a meteor impact on earth would probably equate to the highest number.

In between would be blizzard, flood, lightning and various other manifestations of the power of nature. Somewhere near the bottom of the list would be clouds. These can, of course, bring precipitation, but often they just blank out the sun, or fill the sky with wonderful, fleeting shapes like an invasion of benign, diaphanous alien craft. A few days ago, as we walked in the vicinity of the Lincolnshire villages of Algarkirk and Sutterton, the bright, sunny afternoon gave way to the onset of evening rather quicker than might have been expected with the appearance of a bank of grey cloud. It rolled in across the flat Fenland landscape with a malevolent look in its eye. But it proved to be a sheep in wolf's clothing, and produced no rain to mar our enjoyment of a walk in the autumn countryside.

photograph & text (c ) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 58mm (116mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The water's edge

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When the Pre-Raphaelite painters turned their attention to nature they produced work that rejoiced in the minutiae of leaves, flowers, branches, rocks and water. They saw this verdant world like a child does, and examined it closely, marvelling at the nooks and crannies, insects and dark places. Paint was richly worked to show the detail of their subjects. Works such as "A Study, in March" (1855) by John William Inchbold (1830-1888), or the better-known "Ophelia" (1852 ) by John Everett Millais(1829-1896) exemplify these characteristics.

Critics of the Pre-Raphaelites - and there are many - see a lack of focus in this approach. They complain that the compositions do not direct the eye to a main subject (if one even exists). Camille Paglia talks about the "Keatsian ardor" with which the painting of nature was pursued, and compares it unfavourably with "High Romance energy" and "dynamic process", suggesting that it is only one step removed from the Symbolist decadence of Gustave Moreau. But, like many critics, she lets her preferences get in the way of seeing this aspect of Pre-Raphaelite work for what it is - a different and straightforward way of looking at nature, a reaction to "Sir Sloshua Reynolds" and what had gone before in English painting. And, whilst she is right to say that "part triumphs over whole", there is pleasure to be had in the simple revelation of nature and the decorative effect that this can produce. This is largely art for the eye and the emotional response: it isn't as completely cerebral as some painting. Critics of this aspect of the Pre-Raphaelites' work are like those who decry the unaccompanied folk song but praise the conservatoire setting of the tune, denying themselves the different enjoyment that each offers.

I was reflecting on this as I processed my image. Did it suffer from a lack of focus? It was taken on a walk that I regularly undertake from my house, part of which follows a stream that is reed-lined in summer. The other day only a few reeds were left standing, and the water was reflecting the nearby trees and the blue sky. I took a shot of the water's edge, to capture both the sharp foliage, and the softer reflections that were being distorted by the ripples and eddies. Does the image lack a main subject? Yes, but I think it offers distinct and the indistinct interest for the searching eye.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 98mm (196mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5
Shutter Speed: 1/30
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.7 EV
Image Stabilisation: On