... Journal Entry
Creating a photographic vista within a "confined" space is fun, aided in no small part by the architectural planting of the garden designers and of the building's architects too.
For this you then need the right location, the right lighting (which means the right time of day at the right time of year with right sort of weather) with the right sort of planting in the right sort of design.
Next you need the right sort of photographic medium (in this case Portra 800) with right sort of lens (a 35mm f2), set at the right aperture (f11) and preferably a camera with a decent metering system capable of handling the high dynamic range lighting of the scene (in this case a Nikon F80).
The use of Portra 800 provided a medium with the necessary wide exposure latitude and ability to capture the HDR scene, plus the high speed to allow for the use of the small f11 aperture needed for the depth field required for front to back sharpness, whilst keeping up the shutter speed to mitigate any hand held wobbles.
The 35mm lens provided the perfect moderate wide angle view, fairly naturalistic, without the exaggerated distortion of wider wides, but wide enough to suggest a receding perspective to the more distant elements in the picture.
The oblique sunlight illuminated the building and the plants at the just the right angle and just the right intensity to add depth to the picture without creating harshness or casting deep shadows. The sunshine had that typical winter "crumbly" feel to it, bright but at a lower angle, of a different intensity and from a somewhat different direction (at a similar time of day) than a summer sun.
Add this all together and you get, with a bit of luck, photos of vistas in a confined space that are just right. Such fun!
Now then. The picture above has absolute nothing at all to do with the topic of this particular posting other than I took it at the same time as the other three above it. I included it simply because I liked it and it was on the same roll of film as the others. Taken on my 85mm f1.8 close up, you can see it has very little depth of field so very little is in focus. I thought it had a delicate, painterly look to it - maybe? Anyway, there it is, Witch Hazel in the winter sun.