Copyright © 2009 by Anna Surface. All Rights Reserved.
An assignment for November has been put forth by Scott Thomas Photography at Views Infinitium as to what November means to you. Show and tell I will convey what November means to me.
Yesterday while out and about in the Kansas Flint Hills, the late afternoon sun tried to break through the thickened clouds blanketing over the rustic, sepia-red hued landscape. A classic pastoral scene of black cows was grazing by a working windmill in the fields and hills. November is a time in between of colorful autumn letting go to old man winter blowing in. There is almost an ethereal and somberness to the changing landscape in the dance of seasonal change right before the eyes. And actually, in the Northern Hemisphere, autumn time grows darker with longer nights before winter takes over of beginning longer days.
To show the ‘in between’ feel with the photo, I processed it with a film filter called two strip. This gives a kind of under green cast to the overall picture of the blue-gray skies and brown-red fields, and seemed to help portray that ‘in-between’ look for a November scene. With the photo below, it is just a cropped section out of the above photo. Two different views of the same scene from wide to close. I had taken some close-ups yet the cropped version of this particular photo suited me best in a close-up painterly look.
Anna Surface
Preston Surface
10 Comments
Beautiful work Anna, I love the effect you created with this, well done !!
I managed to figure out your secret – at last…! Both you and Preston show your renditions of reality in tasteful and well balanced compositions where proportions play an important role and I really enjoy looking at your work. I think many of us would have ruined a scenery like the one above “because it has to be sunshine, something fun has to happen in the picture so why not put a good looking girl (with a false smile) as subject somewhere in the picture”. You always follow your own instinct and taste and it shows so please keep relying on them.
Oh, it looks cold and lonely out there. Poor cattle.
Interesting effect you have used. It reminds me of the infrared films used in ‘the old days’.
Love the contrasting colors. Carol
Hi Bernie. Thank you very much!
Hi Staffan. Hmm… I don’t know my secret yet. That is interesting about proportions as I haven’t thought about that. For me, usually I think, I try to get the subject to speak or convey a mood. And usually, as I am thinking about this, the mood I seek is what lies beneath the first appearance. Ehh….perhaps a bit deep. Yes, I follow my instinct most of the time that yet really is still a mystery to me. Thank you very much for your insightful comment!
Hi Carsten. I haven’t seen photos of the infrared films that were used in the old days. I’ll look into that because I happen to like this effect, and I do like infrared. Yes, you got the mood I was conveying. Thank you very much for commenting and stopping by!
Hi Carol. Thank you very much!
I like the technique and effect that you’ve created, it looks very dry out there, feels like the old Wild West day.
I feel like if I look at the photo for too long, I will see Dorothy and Toto meander into the scene.
Very neat shot and effect.
Hi Nye. I hadn’t thought about the feel like the old Wild West day… and yes, it does. Thanks!
Hi Kanniduba. Well, to have Dorothy and Toto, it would have to have a tornado too. Thanks!
These are so starkly beautiful and so different from autumn here in the northeast.
Hi Jennifer and welcome. Yes, there is a difference how autumn look from the northeast and midwest. Thank you for commenting and stopping by.
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[...] Preston told us what November means to her with more reflections this time from Kansas. Don’t be surprised, cows in a red field is something Anna knows how to do [...]