Mirrored Stumps

I went exploring the lagoon at Princess Island early one morning. There were many mallards and Canada geese creating quite a cacophony of sound! I tried to capture some of their activity and took several pictures, but none of them pleased me. I guess wildlife photography is not my forte! However, at the far end of the lagoon, I came across this collection of stumps and branches, and immediately felt the excitement that let me know that I had to photograph them. The problem was that the bank was steep and icy and covered with very prickly rose bushes which made it difficult to get a clear shot at the scene. However, by changing lenses and positions I was able to get several pictures. Two in particular pleased me. My first choice was this same scene but taken with a shorter focal length and from a slightly different angle. That image contained some of my favorite compositional elements, reflected trees, but I found my eye continually drifting to the main stump which was placed in the lower left hand of the image. I felt that this placement of the stump weakened the composition, but I was loath to put the image aside! I finally split the image in two, producing two pictures, one of the stump alone, and the other of a collection similar to the present picture. I liked this one but it was still just a little too busy so I decided to go for this one instead.

I love the symmetry which is seen both between right and left sides and between top and bottom. In addition, the branches seem to convey a lovely sense of motion that I find appealing.

[photo for week of 8 March 2010]

© David Butts, 2009