Working with textures

Wanting to work with textures, I headed to Newport Wetlands early in March to investigate the landscape. Drawn to the idea of textures, either in the ground or in the vegetation I braved the bracing ides of March one afternoon, just before the coffee shop closed.

Walking through the boardwalks, the reeds made compelling subjects as they moved in the breeze and I caught some of the reflections as they grew out of the water. It was quite a cloudy day, with the sun fighting a losing battle as it sunk towards the horizon, so the light was quite flat for photography - great for getting textures as the contrast didn't detract from the subjects. Despite the breeze, the pools and lagoons were still and created some gorgeous reflections.

After about an hour the cold was biting and I was happy to head towards the coffee shop for a well deserved latte - only to find it closed! All the more reason to revisit!

A de-saturated shot of the reeds

Stillness reflected in the water

The uniformity of movement in the reeds

Contrasting textures in the reeds and the mud flats

Movement

Manmade textures in the rope and fencing

Contact sheet

Experimenting with bokeh

My first real foray into deliberately working with bokeh, these were taken during a lunchbreak in Beechwood Park. This tree was positioned at the top of this narrow winding parkland on a breezy day in March. 

The sun provided some excellent light which is what I wanted to give an ethereal feel. Blossom petals are so delicate and transparent when the light shines through them and this made for some great photos. Experimenting not only with the light but also the random effect of composition as a result of the breeze blowing the branches, I got some pleasing results. The great thing with bokeh is that with the shallow depth of field, you can experiment with what you present. It was strangely thrilling having to work with the wind movement and not necessarily knowing what might come out. 

Not bad for a lunchtime stint - and I got back to the office in good time, despite getting completely carried away!

Not everything came out in focus

Blossom with a little added editing to remove the clarity and add an ethereal feel

Random focussing creates some great abstract compositions

Up close

Playing with shadows and light

Something more traditional

Contact sheet