Weeds and razor wire

click photo to enlarge
It's odd, the things that attract our eye as photographers. It may be something conventionally beautiful such as a landscape, a sunset or a ship on the wave-tossed ocean. On the other hand, it could be a subject that is generally regarded as ugly, unworthy of consideration or just plain ordinary - such as weed or razor wire. On an early blog post I chose razor wire as a subject and discussed its place in the modern world. And, at various times, I've photographed weeds a.k.a. wild flowers for their unique qualities.

Consequently, when I saw spirals of razor wire on top of an old brick wall that was growing a luxuriant crop of weeds I had to point my camera in their direction. I consciously chose a long focal length to throw a good deal of the subject out of focus, and was pleased with the way the wire, in places, lost some of its hard sharpness - photographically speaking that is!

© Tony Boughen

Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 140mm (210mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
ISO:220
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Razor wire arabesques

click photo to enlarge
When I took up bird watching at the age of eleven I didn't realise that for the rest of my life I was going to see the world in a slightly different way from most people. The filter that everyone has that stops them noticing every bird and bird-like movement that comes their way was removed from my eyes, and to this day it remains absent: I still, over four decades later, note, identify (where possible), and often comment on, the birds that I see as I go about my everyday business.

Seeing the world in a different way is also a trait that amateur and professional photographers share. Once the photography bug has bitten, views, objects and situations are scanned and considered for their photographic potential. A group of people standing against the light will be sized up for the silhouette that they make, for the way the light forms a halo of their hair, and for how the background interacts with them as a main subject. An angry sky with clouds of different hues forming and reforming in the wind, will be appraised not for the likelihood of it drenching everyone within the next few minutes, but for the contribution it could make to a shot of the landscape below. Some graffiti under a concrete fly-over will be seen not as a place to avoid for fear of being mugged, but as a potential source of gritty, graphic, and colourful images. And a temporary hoarding made of re-used plywood topped with razor wire, seen on a sunny day, will be photographed for the arabesques that the sharp wire and its equally sharp shadows throw across the flat surface.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 20mm (40mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/500 seconds
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.7 EV
Image Stabilisation: On