Wisbech's London plane tree

click photo to enlarge
More than half of central London's trees are the London plane (Platanus x acerifolia), a hybrid of the oriental plane and the American plane. The first of these trees was planted over three hundred years ago and the oldest are massive, providing not only the beauty of their leaves and bark, but also shade on hot summer days and fascinating silhouettes in winter. Some of the examples in Berkeley Square (where the nightingale sang) were planted in the 1720s and have very asymmetrical outlines with large, low hanging boughs.

Walking through the main park in the Cambridgeshire town of Wisbech recently I stopped under a large plane tree that I first noted several years ago. On the ground below the canopy were many brown leaves, the first to fall from the tree this autumn, but up above there were still plenty of green leaves clinging on and many hanging fruit balls. This tree has a large, low bough - you can see it on the right of the photograph, and in taking my wide-angle photograph I made sure to include it. The main trunk has lost its attractive pattern of old and new patches of bark, but you can still see this on the low bough. The bright sun piercing the foliage, and blue sky behind, make my photograph look like it was taken in spring. But this is an autumn sight and a fine one too.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: London Plane Tree, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 9mm (18mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Autumn leaves

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Today's photograph shows the multicoloured hues of a selection of plane tree leaves that I saw blown into a drift in a park. I took the shot for the shapes of the leaves, the contrast between the bright hues of the freshly fallen and the earth tones of the older examples, and for the way that the signs of decay gave them a hint of melancholy. Looking at them I reflected that soon the bright reds, yellows, greens and oranges would be gone and all would be brown, then ragged, and finally a wet, decomposing sludge that would return to the earth.

However, looking anew at my photograph, I decided that I would reprieve this particular group of leaves and let their fading beauty shine on through the winter and into next year. How? By making the shot into my computer's desktop image. When I think about the photographs that I've chosen for that particular purpose I find that I've chosen leaves more than any other subject. Leaves against buildings, leaves against sky, new leaves, dying leaves in water, crisp, dry leaves, fiery leaves and many more have been the image that I see when I turn on my computer. Until the fresh green leaves of next spring make an appearance it will once more be autumn leaves that greet me each morning as I sit down to my work.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 10.4mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f4.5
Shutter Speed: 1/100
ISO: 125
Exposure Compensation:  0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The "Leafing Through History" sculpture

click photos to enlarge

I'm a fan of public sculpture. In fact, I am so in favour of it that I'd rather see mediocre public sculpture than none at all. At its best a good piece interests, challenges, excites and intrigues. It adds something positive to its location. At its worst it is an eyesore, a feature that degrades the place where it stands. This much I've said elsewhere in the blog. I've also added that street furniture - seating, railings, etc - that try to combine utility and the aesthetic qualities of sculpture rarely work. What I haven't articulated previously, however, is my general dislike of modern, public wood sculpture. This is often "environmentally" themed, featuring wild animals, birds, and plants, and frequently has a "rustic" finish. I've seen an example that combines the above with the function of a path-side seat; one that was uncomfortable at the best of times, and unusable when damp (i.e. for much of the year).

Consequently, when I come across a good example of the genre I often take a photograph of it. That happened during my recent visit to Pershore in Worcestershire. Today's photographs show the two sides of a sculpture of part of the trunk of a beech tree next to Pershore Abbey (enlarge the smaller of these two recent images to see the context). It is called, "Leafing Through History", and was carved in 2007 by Tom Harvey. This much I know from the accompanying plaque. It appears to represent the act of reading about the past, or is about the past itself, and has wildlife - a fox, butterflies, flowers - a tree, and the sun and moon as a backdrop to the figures. The piece is unusual, in my experience, by being carved from the upper part of a tree trunk that is still anchored in the ground. More than that though, the under-cutting is much deeper than is usually the case these days, and that gives much deeper shadows and better formed subjects. And the composition is more inventive: too often the sculpture retains the "lumpiness" of the original piece of wood and is more in the nature of a relief than a sculpture. That is certainly not the case here. Of the two faces I admire the complex composition, but prefer the single hooded figure. Is it meant to represent one of the monks of the adjacent abbey? Is it Robin Hood having a literary break from robbing the rich and giving to the poor? I don't know. But, I do like the way the figure seems to grow, organically, out of the tree, and that was what I aimed to capture in my photograph.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1 (Photo 2)
Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 33mm (66mm/35mm equiv.) (25mm (50mm/35mm equiv.))
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/00 (1/250)
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.7 (-0.3) EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Look at this

click photo to enlarge
One of the pleasures of photography is that it lets us re-live childhood. Or to be more specific, an aspect of childhood. When children gaze upon the world they are captivated by its peculiarities, singularities and great variety. I remember my oldest son aged about one year old, sitting in his pushchair on a path next to a field, looking at a donkey that had come to look at him, and absolutely laughing his head off with delight at what he had never seen before. At other times my children would seize me and take me to look at something they had found - a fallen branch, a hole under a rock, an insect on a bench - things that adults would pass by, but which they, seeing them for the first time, would recognise as fascinating and worthy of deeper examination and reflection. "Look at this!" they would say. And that is the aspect of childhood that photographers re-discover when they turn their camera loose upon the world; the ability to look with fresh eyes at everyday objects and present them in such a way as to say "Look at this!"

Today's photograph is that kind of image. Standing on a Thames-side path in London, with a clear blue sky above, a row of plane trees and street lights by my side, I was motivated by the shape of the tree silhouetted against the plain background to take a photograph. It was probably those knobbly branches with the tendril-like fresh growth at the end of each one that caught my eye. Considering it I decided that, rather than compose an image of the tree alone, I would include a street light and introduced contrast and a compositional element that would allow me to place the tree off-centre yet retain balance. It isn't the greatest photograph I've ever made, but its starkness, interest and juxtaposioion are enough for me to say, "Look at this!"

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.4mm (26mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/800
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Bark pictures

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I'm starting to think that I have a thing for the London Plane - the tree that is (Platanus hispanica), not some BA or Virgin aircraft. I've taken more than a few images of its bark, and posted two of them before, here and here. What I like about it is the patterns that you find, as well as the interesting colours and almost infinite variations on its basic theme. I find that I'm unable to pass one of these trees without inspecting the trunk to see if I can capture another example of this attractive surface.

Several days ago, when I was in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, I came across this tree. Its bark was flaking off in rounded pieces. The surfaces that were revealed seemed to get darker the longer they had been exposed to light and air. I took a few shots around the trunk with my pocket compact camera, but then concentrated on this area of bark. Why this piece? Well, framing it in the camera it occurred to me that the shapes looked like a one-eyed cat looking back at me - and that seemed a good enough reason for a photograph. I've no doubt that the patterns of plane tree bark are a little like some wallpapers, and different people will see different things in them. But, for me, with this example, all I see is the cat!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.1mm (24mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Plane tree bark

click photo to enlarge

I remember reading a while ago that the reason antelopes have light coloured hair on the lower sides and underneath of their bodies is to better camouflage them by counteracting the effect of the shadow thrown by light coming from above. Thus, to a lion the antelope's body is less three-dimensional and therefore less visible. The writer noted that this kind of colouration is common across many mammal species, birds and fish. Whether evolution has caused these animals to develop like this to protect them from predators, or whether another reason is responsible for the phenomenon, I don't know, but the theory certainly sounds plausible.

And yet, if it were effective, wouldn't we see the principle being used in the camouflage paint schemes that are applied to tanks and other military vehicles? Military aircraft are often darker above and lighter below, but I imagine that is more to do with making them harder to see from above and below rather than from the side.

In fact, camouflage is an interesting science that has evolved over time. Take the battledress of infantry soldiers. It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century that bright colours, designed to distinguish armies from each other stopped being used, and were replaced by "earth" colours intended to make the individuals less conspicuous. And not until the mid-twentieth century were khaki, lovat, green, field grey, white (in snow), etc. replaced by multicoloured patterns that sought to break up the outline of the wearer even more effectively. Today the early two-tone green and brown have given way to mottled effects of three or more "earth" colours whose shades and pattern are changed with the latitude and landscape in which an army is deployed.

I was reflecting on this as I photographed the bark of this plane tree (Platanus hispanica). The colours and shapes reminded me very much of modern battle-dress camouflage, and I wondered if the designers had been inspired by this tree that is found in many of our urban and suburban areas. The attractiveness of the bark is obvious, but military camouflage is quite seductive too otherwise it wouldn't have found its way into high street fashions! Incidentally, this is the second shot of plane tree bark that I have taken this year, though the previous tree was in another town altogether, and quite different.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.7 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

400th blog post

click photo to enlarge

As I prepared this post I noticed it is the 400th* since I began the blog on December 23rd 2005.

I started PhotoReflect to give my photography a focus and to try and improve the quality of my images. I think it has done that, and the comments and emails I receive seem to suggest it's so too. The short pieces that have accompanied each post were also designed to challenge me. In the early days of the blog I found coming up with subjects fairly easy. Lately it's been harder! The quality of my writing seemed to improve as the months passed, but then levelled off. Lately, it's maybe slipped back a touch!

The interruptions that there have been due to work and moving house proved to be useful in that I came back to posting re-energised, with a backlog of photographs to work through, and some fresh topics to discuss. At the moment I'm finding the time for photography and "reflecting", but the time will surely come when I'll take another break. I've had a several emails asking me why the facility to comment has been removed. The one word answer is "Spam". I may return the feature at some point in the future, but it will probably be moderated i.e. I'll have to read and approve each one before it's posted. In the meantime I've been happy to get emails from regular correspondents and the occasional new reader, and I hope you'll continue to send me your feedback. I'm currently revising my "Best of PhotoReflect", and I'll let you know when that's ready to view.

I can't let this milestone pass without saying that the feedback I've had through this blog, and on the photography forums where I post, has invariably been positive, insightful and helpful, and has played a big part in helping me to improve my photography and keep finding the images. Thank you everyone!

Today's photograph is some tree bark I came across in a busy town centre. I think it's a plane tree (Platanus hispanica), but I'd be happy to be corrected if anyone knows otherwise.

* Some of you may have added up each year's total, arrived at 396, and are now wondering about my facility with mathematics. The fact is, for very specific reasons, I've recently removed 4 of the older posts.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 68mm macro (136mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On