Trying to be subtle

I often see other photographers' landscape work that has a seductive blend of softness and yet detail, and the exact quality has always eluded me in my own work. I'm not trying to reproduce someone else's ideas or images - that's impossible anyway - but rather seeking to push my own boundaries and keep on learning. On a trip up to Malhamdale recently, the light was ever-changing and, at one point, I was really struck by the variety of tones in the scenery - aquas, soft greys and light russets seemed to be there, giving almost a smoky quality to the foliage. I have tried to process this image rather differently from how I'd usually do it: lighter, less saturated and softer. Perhaps it's less 'as I saw it' and more 'as I perceived it'. I think I quite like it. 

Freezing fog

 

'I like the muted sounds, the shroud of grey, and the silence that comes with fog.'  - Om Malik

First snow of 2023...

 ... but it only lasted for about an hour and then all disappeared as suddenly as it arrived.

Silken

Sometimes I just enjoy playing with images in Lightroom and Photoshop. I can't say I always know exactly what I'm doing and I rarely have 'a plan' in advance, but just messing around with ideas and sliders can sometimes produce something quite pleasing. This started out as two images. One was an ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) shot of my Christmas cards, which I just threw randomly on to the floor!  The second has a trailing leaves pattern, which is my bathroom wallpaper. Superimposed, with altered blend modes, adjusted colour, cropped, duplicated and then assembled on a new black canvas. (I can mostly not recall exactly what I did, in what order, so even I couldn't replicate it.) The end result seems to me quite attractive (I may have second thoughts on another day!) and reminds me of a richly printed silk scarf.