Printing the Image - Kellerwald Edersee National Park Edition
Ansel Adams is quoted as saying, “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” That quote says a lot about how demanding we should be about our work. It’s hard to make good work, even harder to make something that is outstanding, or in Ansel’s words, “significant.” It’s for that reason this printing the image post is about only one image. The image is so significant that I didn’t even bother to try printing any of mine. This is, by far, the best of the images from our Kellerwald Edersee trip and, if you haven’t guessed it by now, Ann made it.
She doesn’t like me saying things like it’s better than anything I did on our trip. But it’s true. Saying that certainly doesn’t belittle any of my images, a few of them are pretty good, and time will tell if they have lasting power. But Ann’s image is superb. I would place this among her top 5 images, ever. It’s one that I can look at over and over and over again and still find something new and interesting in it each time.
And the best part about the making of this image is that Ann was incredibly conscious, at the time of making the image, about so many of the elements that make it so amazing. There’s a story behind it that’s worth telling.
The image was made about one-quarter of the way into our grueling near 7-mile hike on the Ringelsberg Route. We’d had a good morning start, with me seeing an earlier image that had us stop for a bit, and then us discovering a side area of rocks and beautiful trees that gave us time and the desire to make more images, albeit ones that we ultimately are not satisfied with. In any event, we were warmed up and ready to go after those two image-making sessions.
We weren’t much farther down the trail before I saw a really amazing tree that made me drop my pack to pull out my camera. Ann, as she often does, continued walking down the trail a bit, looking for her own images. While making mine, I noticed she was about 200 yards down trail (with me wondering whether she stopped because she was waiting for me, or whether in fact she had found something).
I finished up, packed my gear and started walking towards her, noticing she was intensely at work. Heck, I’m going to show you the image now and again later because you should see it.
As I approached her camera, I could see on the LCD that there was something special there.
Ann asked me what I thought about the framing (that so important aspect to photography) and started pointing out her considerations, with us looking at the LCD and then looking at the subject, and back again. She noted the subtle color shift in the background part of the image, with the cool blues to the upper right, the warmer reds in the center hillside, and again the cool blues off to the left. It was something I hadn’t noticed until she pointed it out to me. (It’s all about looking and seeing.) She then mentioned certain trees or tree parts she wanted in the frame, and those she decided to exclude. My sole contribution to this image was to suggest lowering it ever so slightly to exclude a portion of a branch that, although interesting, really led the eye outside the frame and weakening the image. “Anything to the left?” “Nope.” “How about the right?” “Nope, that looks good too.” Ann made a very minor adjustment to lower the top edge, scanned the bottom edge to make sure nothing bad was introduced into the bottom of the frame by lowering it, and then made a couple of exposures.
As we we continued down the trail I asked Ann what made her stop to make the image. She said that she first noticed the cool-warm-cool coloration in the background of the image, and then sought out the right foreground elements for it. She then mentioned the playing with framing - deciding which trees to include and which to exclude - and finally settling on this one composition. In some ways, Ann decided on the background before deciding on the foreground. Quite the reverse to how I approach image making! She finally asked me if I thought it would be an ok image. (What an understatement.). I replied that if it comes out anything like it first appeared to me on the LCD (which is not always the case), it would be a beauty.
When Ann downloaded the image, well, it was a beauty. Then Ann began to work on it. Not much, but a bit here, a bit there to enhance the qualities inherent in the image. I came down on one of my work breaks this week, looked at the image on her large monitor and was stunned! Not only was the cool-warm-cool background present in the image, the trees and interlinking branches create a three dimensional effect that is mesmerizing.
The differing colors and textures of the trees and branches moves the eye from one tree to another tree. Which then moves the eye around the frame with areas that are brilliantly sharp, to other areas that are clouded not with fog, but with thin branches of trees layering into the distance. The image seems to vibrate with certain trees appearing and then disappearing. One tree coming to prominence, and then another, then another, and another. Each with their own personality.
Now if we could get it to print!
We decided to try two papers, both Hahnemühle papers. The first was an A3 (approximately 11x17) matte paper, the other an A2 (larger about 17x24) baryta glossy paper. The matte image is fine, subtle in its beauty, but lacking a bit of captivating presence. Still, it’s a beauty to behold. The baryta print is simply stunning. The print image is about 15”x20” and it has all of the qualities discussed above.
Click on the image below and it will come up on your screen as large as it can get, and then study it. Really look at it.
It is an amazing image and a beautiful print. While seemingly simple, it has all of the wonder and organic complexity that exists in nature and a presence that belies its simplicity. I’m thinking of having it framed. It deserves to be seen.
This is what I mean about making a photograph. This is a photograph. Ann did not make it by accident. It is not a mere picture, a snap-shot of a place. It’s a photograph that does many things well. Most importantly, it requires you to pay attention to the image - it’s not eye-candy that is exciting to look at, and then fades away immediately. You have to make the initial effort to look, and once you do, the image doesn’t let go of you, instead it rewards you with more, a bit here, something there, and on and on. It has a lot to give, but you must make that first minor effort. It’s a photograph.
There is no doubt in my mind, this is a significant image. Five stars without question. That leaves Ann with another eleven or so to make by the end of the year.
Me? I’m still working on my first for the year..
PS: By the time you’re reading this Ann and I are now on our first long trip in the bimobil. We’re spending the end of April and beginning of May in Southern and Western Sweden. We have a few stops lined up, most particularly Söderåsens National Park and Tivedens National Park, but no firm itinerary. Instead, we’ve got a list of different places to maybe swing by and check out with a variety of landscape environments and hopefully some great photography opportunities. We’re still unsure about how far north we want to travel (research has revealed that some of the possibilities aren’t even really accessible until June so . . . ). In any event, it will be a real road trip.
But have no fear. Our trip to Germany gave me plenty of material to work with, so blog posts are in the can and scheduled to be posted while we’re away. By the time that stock is done, we should have more stories and images to share from our travels.