Dorset | alan frost photography

Posts from the ‘Dorset’ category

My heart is in mono….. and in the countryside

In the latter half of last year I made a conscious effort to make images in colour and not in black and white. Monochrome had been my default creative choice for many years, in fact for nearly a decade. Whilst some of the images I made in colour pleased me, I was finding it increasingly hard to motivate myself to make more colour pictures. As a consequence the past few months have proven to be a very lean period. I even had one kind follower asking me if I was okay? Rest assured I am fine, but photographically speaking I can only admit to being in something of a creative rut.

A change of tack was required. In more recent weeks I have been out in the countryside near our home in Dorset with the sole intention of making black and white images. Whether overcast and dull, or bright and sunny, the camera has recorded what has drawn my eye. I had no high expectations. This was not about making prize winning pictures, nor even ones which would be added to one of my galleries at a later date. Quite simply this was an exercise to teach myself to see the world in shades of grey again, and in the process to make a few images which might rekindle my love of photography and in particular the genre which has been the core of this site.

Was it a success? 100% yes. I not only immersed myself in the beauty of the countryside but I made images which in all likelihood had they been in colour would have done nothing for me. In life you have to try new things and although I can still see myself making some colour images, if I am being completely honest with myself, my heart is in monochrome. The creative medium I discovered back in 2011 which has given me so much pleasure ever since.

Why monochrome I ask myself? Is it the timeless quality of mono? Almost certainly. Is it the greater freedom of creative choices? Again yes. The removal of colour instantly renders an image unreal, an abstraction of the world from how we normally see it. Different processing techniques can evoke feelings and expression in a way which may not always be possible in colour. That’s not to say that colour doesn’t have advantages over B&W, it certainly does but for the most part it’s not for me. Colour is a distraction and if I look at two images of the same subject, one in colour the other in black and white, almost invariably I will find the monochrome version more pleasing. It’s all down to personal preference as we all have different tastes. Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if we all liked the same thing?

What else did this experience teach me? Whilst I have often advocated, but not always practiced, the maxim ‘always carry a camera’, in the hope that something might draw my eye, there is really no substitute for going out with the intention of making photographs. Yes of course some days will be more productive and rewarding than others, but looking isn’t the same as observing and to find strong compositions in good light takes time and concentration. Sherlock Holmes famously said; “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.” There is another benefit to this more considered approach to image making – I appreciate the beauty of the countryside so much more. I stop to not only observe, but also to listen and absorb the very nature of my surroundings. I am all too aware that I can miss photo opportunities if always on the move.

There is another advantage to being out and about with a camera to take photographs as opposed to going for a walk and taking a camera. There is clearly a priority of purpose. It might also be deemed to be practicing, which doesn’t always make perfect, but I do strongly believe practice can enhance your good fortune. It has been said many times before, but the saying “The harder I practice, the luckier I get” holds true for many pursuits in life.

Similarly Henri Cartier-Bresson said – “The first 10,000 photographs are your worst”. In this digital age that number could easily be increased 10 fold. Not only will practice increase your chances of a successful outcome but you will become more familiar with your camera, lens choice and other equipment, further enhancing your technical skills. I will freely admit having to re-learn which actions I had assigned to certain function buttons when I went out the other day!

I doubt that Ansel Adams would have gone out for a walk in Yosemite with his view camera and large tripod purely in the hope that a scene worthy of capture might appear in front of him. After all he wanted to make images, to indulge himself in his love of photography and to fully appreciate the majesty of the world around him. I think it entirely appropriate to say that he was a photographer first and not a rambler with a camera!

I have enjoyed writing this entry whilst sharing some of my thoughts and recent images with you.

From now on, it’s back to my first love of monochrome, and images of the countryside which I am very fortunate to experience.

Thanks for reading.

A return to my favourite genre…..and it’s close to my back door.

It’s been a number of months since I posted an entry on this blog. Five months to be precise, which is a long time. I could bore you with a variety of reasons for my absence but that’s not really something I think you want to read about. (I have kept fit and well though and for that I am most grateful).

Instead I would prefer to share with you a selection of images all taken since the turn of the year. Pictures of my favourite genre, the landscape of the English countryside. Open countryside, farmland and woodland scenes.

I consider myself to be very fortunate. I love and I am inspired to photograph the beauty that is on my doorstep, which is just as well as we are living day to day through another Lockdown. This severely limits all travel except for essential reasons, and to take exercise in your local area. In fact the guidance is clear, do not leave home unless absolutely necessary.

I inted this to be the first in a series of images and blog posts. As I process and share these photographs with you I can feel a degree of excitement at the prospect of building a body of work which is harmonious in character, style and subject. I am sure it will evolve over time but as the seasons change I shall allow that to happen. Most of all I want to capture how I see the English countryside, and in particular record the raw beauty of rural scenes close to my back door.

Wherever you happen to be, stay well and keep safe.

A walk around Chesil Cove – the joy of seeing

Chesil Cove is the most southerly section of Chesil Beach. It lies at the extreme eastern end of the beach by the village of Chiswell on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Chesil Beach forms part of the Jurassic Coast and is the largest tombolo in the UK. A remarkable natural phenomena being some 18 miles long and estimated to be made up of 180 billion pebbles. The largest pebbles, roughly the size of a fist, are to be found at Chesil Cove. The further west you go the smaller they become until they reach pea-size at Bridport.

I took a walk around Chesil Cove and I was attracted to the beach huts perched on the rising land about the cove itself. Nestled amongst boulders and below now redundant quarries, the huts are rather ramshackle. Undeniably they enjoy a wonderful view looking west along the coast and by virtue of their position are probably quite expensive to buy.

Dorset in the snow

The number of times we experience snow in southern England are relatively rare, although we have had two quite significant falls in the past few weeks. What perhaps is more unusual, is for me to be in the right place and have the time to make some photographs of a ‘white’ landscape which is so well suited to monochrome.

In the past few days we have had the ‘Mini Beast from the East’, a lesser version of ‘The Beast from the East’ which took place at the turn of the month. I have read this morning that ‘The Beast from the East 3’ is being forecast for Easter. I am not a great fan of this naming of weather events, but the media machine clearly benefits.

Yesterday I was in Dorset and virtually all the roads were passable with care. I only had to turn round once where drifting snow had blocked the way ahead. I was fortunate to have good cloud cover as well. I was pleased the sun didn’t shine, as this would only have increased contrast and made setting the correct exposure even more challenging.

I thoroughly enjoyed a cold but photographically productive few hours finding suitable locations and compositions.

The snow simplifies the landscape. Shapes, lines, form and texture come to the fore. The snow helps to emphasise all these ingredients which are always important to a black and white photographer.

Do click on any of the images to view a larger version.

If at first you don’t succeed…..

……..then try, try, and try again.

Milton Abbey

It goes without saying that any outdoor photography is weather dependent. Sometimes the conditions are just right, and at other times they work against you.

This was very much the case during a recent workshop in Dorset with another photographer – Anthony Blake. Throughout the day it had been overcast and misty. As we approached our final destination before the sun set, we walked up a hill to the site of St Catherine’s Chapel in the hope that we would enjoy a great view of Milton Abbey through the trees. On arriving unfortunately the Abbey was nowhere to be seen. A veil of mist had descended in the valley and obscured its view. We waited a while but if anything the mist was getting worse not better.

We returned to the car and drove around looking for different viewpoint without any success. Unfortunately the light was fading fast but we decided to try one more time and return to the first location in the wishful hope that the mist might have lifted.

Much to our surprise and delight the Abbey could now be seen and you can see the result in the image above. An ethereal view of the Abbey with the mist hanging in the valley but with a clearly visible outline of the hills in the distance. I was very fortunate to capture this view…….and in doing so I couldn’t help but be reminded of the saying which I have used for the title of this post.