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| The Mansion House, Calderstones Park, Liverpool. iPhone SE 2nd Gen. |
Living in a city has many advantages but it's good to get away from the built environment and into nature. The problem is often one of time. So, when I do have a little time for a brief break away from the everyday, I enjoy walking in my local parks. A few are close to where I live and that means even when time is tight I can spend some of it in a more natural setting. For this post I have chosen Calderstones Park. Home of The Reader Organisation.
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| Window self-portrait in the rain |
I find that I need to make photographs. It helps me to relax and unwind. You can lose yourself in the process and for a brief moment forget everything else apart from the task in hand. Usually I will pack a camera. Often I’ll take a digital camera but more recently a film camera too but sometimes if I want to travel light I simply use the camera I always have with me - my phone - iPhone SE (2nd gen). This phone may be bottom of the range for an Apple iPhone but it has a surprisingly good camera considering the small size of the phone itself. Nothing fancy, no zoom etc but good enough for me to capture reasonable photographs and make pictorial notes.
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| Winter reflections |
I like to use 1:1 ratio and enjoy shooting in black and white. This phone does a pretty good job of that. The 'Noir' setting (terrible name I know), gives me better skies and darker tones but retains details in the shadows and the phone compensates for the lighting conditions very well. It’s a little like using a red filter and the Acros simulation setting on a Fuji digital camera. In another post I compared a Fuji x100F to the SE. If your’re interested go here.
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| Ferns reaching for the sun |
While I’m making photographs I have a greater perception of the light, tones, colour and textures on display but also, as a bonus, the sounds around me, the wind, the bird song, children playing, conversations, footsteps. In fact I find my awareness heightened.
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| Avenue of trees with shadows |
I like moving from one image to the next and just looking carefully until my eyes rest on a scene or subject, then compose and shoot. It’s a great luxury to have so many shots at your disposal and unlike film you don’t have to think things through too much or worry about your camera settings. It’s a different kind of photography. Having said that, when time and weather allow, I much prefer film photography - not because the end result is any better or worse, it's simply different. I find using digital cameras lies somewhere between the two in my experience but I'm sure this is different for other photographers and is dependant on many factors.
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| Winter scene |
Using my phone to make images is like 'sketching'. Taking notes but with a device that records the scene in front of me immediately. The process also teaches me to look deeper and see what works and how the textures and forms in front of me look in different light. Then, on another day, when time allows, I will return with a film camera and try the shot again.
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| Through the broken stone wall |
These digital ‘visual notes’ are both photographs in their own right but also may lead on to further photographs interpreted in a different way, using film or digital cameras. The data the phone collects is also useful in recording the time of day and where the image was made.
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| The path to the Camellia Terrace |
I feel very fortunate to have such a beautiful and well-kept park close by. The perfect place to wonder with your camera or phone and to make photographs while enjoying the gifts a good park can offer.
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The Seasons Gate
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| Shadow self-portrait |
