Notes and Images from a Small Island (Practice 6 Day 4)

After looking again at Ori Gersht’s Floating World (2016) images yesterday, I decide to go in search of reflections this morning.  After the storm overnight, the air is still and the autumn colours vibrant.  As I take in the view, I hear rutting deer in the nearby mountains and the numerous burns babbling as I go past.  I enjoy the early morning walks as they give me time to think about the shoot and the successes and failures of the day before, and my PhD more generally.

As I set up my camera, I reflect on one of the aspects of photography that I believe is crucial in accessing the essence – spatial persistence – that is spending time working the same location, getting to know every nook and cranny.

However, always being careful not to allow familiarity to reduce attentiveness.  By working in the same locations, the sense of ‘this is my only chance to grab the shot’ is no longer an issue.  I remember many times photographing wildlife overseas, feeling under pressure to take large numbers of shots without necessarily taking time to think and consider the narrative and intent in my work.  Now being able to return, time after time, I have the luxury of writing down ideas for another day, rather than trying to capture everything in one shoot.

I continue to use double exposure shots as I search for the reflections in the loch.  I do not want to create a traditional landscape image with both the object (the tree) and its reflection in the frame.  I want to reflect the being of the object, the noumenal dimensions – a glimpse through the reflection.  The reflection strips away the trunk and the leaves of the tree and instead signifies many other things such as the sun, wind, currents of the water and the season. The traditional image of the tree as a physical presence is withdrawn in the reflection.

When reviewing the images, I am surprised.  Rather than giving a sense of serenity and calm they are dynamic and startling with the depth and vibrancy of the colours and the contorted representation of the trees.  They have a sense of mystery, an almost Alice in Wonderland-type quality to them.  I can see secret burrows, holes to fall down and a continual sense of disorientation.

I wonder where my practice will take me next. . .