Fall arrives today (for us here in the Northern Hemisphere at least – context is important!), and I spent some time hunting for images for my Facebook cover photo that I have been changing with the seasons. I have been doing this collage design for a couple of seasons now, and I like it better than just a single image. It allows me to not only communicate a central theme but also give a broader representation of it in my work.
Picking photos for a theme is always a nice way to go back through some of my older photographs, but inevitably I always end up wanting to tweak them to bring them up to date with wherever I am personally in my style and preferences for processing, techniques, etc. The older the image, the more I usually fiddle with it to bring it up to date.
“Art is never finished, only abandoned.”
Paul Valery
Well, that happened with the central image of this collage – a multiple exposure (12 or 16 if I remember correctly) experiment that I did in my backyard after a hard day of raking leaves. All-day long, leaves were falling from trees onto the ground, spinning in circles as they come down. That was the original idea behind the image.
It’s an older image, exposed in Fall 2004, on Fuji Velvia 35mm film using my Nikon F5. I remember being quite excited when I received the slides back in the mail. (Yes, that was the process back in the “olden days” 🙂 ) I had no idea how the experiment would turn out, and I ended up with an image I quite liked. It certainly appealed to my appreciation of abstract photography.
Fast forward 9 years, and as I pulled the image up on my display to look how it fits in with the others, I couldn’t help but note that it was a bit flat compared to the others in the group. So I started re-evaluating it using some tools that I didn’t have back then such as luminosity masks, tonal contrast, etc.
So now I have a Fall Leaf Spiral 2013 Fall edition version. It is a bit punchier, more contrast, and updated to where I probably would have stopped processing this image if I just shot it yesterday. It does match the processing I had on the other photos (which are all untouched from the originals) a bit better, and looks more consistent with the theme.
Looking at these two versions, I can see where someone might prefer the 1st, or some on the 2nd – I think both have some appealing qualities if you like this type of work in general. It is interesting when we compare things side by side vs. alone as an individual piece of work. Before I dropped this image in with the others in the collage, I really had no intention of tweaking this shot. It is by the comparison with the others in the leaf collage that instigated the desire to change it.
That is one aspect of photography that I particularly enjoy… if you have a good starting capture or concept, maybe it will evolve over time as our own personal tastes and habits also change. It leaves the door open for growth and exploration. And as Mr. Valery so eloquently put it, it is only abandoned until we decide to pick it up again.
2021Oct04: This post was updated to correct the quotation mistakingly attributed to DaVinci
I really like the 2013 edition of your 2004 image its much richer. Isnt it interesting when you go through some of your older image how you look at the older ones and say if I taken this today i would have done this, that , or the other instead of what I did.
Thanks Chris.
I like the newer version of Fall Leaf Spiral, as well. When I look at older slides I shot years ago, the higher contrast Kodachrome and Velvia seem so much more interesting. in this part of the country, we are used to overcast skies that produced flat lighting. I really like it but I always found myself trying to get a bit more contrast in the prints. There was a time when I never thought I’d say digital is better than film.
BTW…every time I check the box to say I’d like to receive notices of follow up comments I have to confirm that choice. Not a big deal, but is there a way to avoid that extra step?
Hey Steve, yeah – I can see how that would be a little annoying. I get that on some other blogs also. I looked into the settings and basically – there are none for this Jetpack subscription plugin I am using. I should have researched that better before implementing it. Maybe there is a better one out there?
I am with you on your other comments. I really enjoy the flexibility digital has granted me, and the freedom to process starting from Raw files to my particular ambitions with any particular image. Thanks for the feedback.
Personally, I find reediting images one of the pleasures of the digital darkroom, Mark. While I often will see the old processing as flat or not quite up to snuff and rework it into the 21st century…well, it was already there, but you know what I mean, 🙂 many other times I realized that the first go round was let’s say just a bit overzealous and bringing it down to earth is called for. But whichever the direction, it is nice to have the ability to give it a more complete and satisfying look than had been done in the past.
And for the record, I think your current work is more pleasing than the old version. It’s rich and has some nice contrast.
I definitely prefer the newer version, Mark. The colors really pop and the added contrast makes for an overall more pleasing photograph. The 2013 version looks more like Velvia to me than the original! As our tools have evolved, in many ways so has our vision.
I think the original was a bit desaturated due to the multiple exposures and it lost some dynamic range – even with Velvia. Thanks for the input Tom.
Really nice photos. I also like the newer version better. I thought of something interesting when you were talking about the tools we have now and being able to punch things up with contrast, saturation etc. I wonder if, as our tools have changed, our sensibilities have as well. Now that we have tools that punch things up, make HDR that is hyper-real the general viewer has come to expect this look. I wonder, if shown both images 15 years ago’ I still would have chosen #2??
I think they have changed a bit because more possibilities have been revealed. Somewhat like when Velvia first came to market, and everyone started falling in love with the color saturation. Interesting questions Howard… I don’t know how I would have chosen 15 years ago either. What I wonder more is how I will look upon both versions 15 years in the future! 🙂