Grassland

July 31, 2022

I was on a photo outing without much in the way of expectations - which sometimes is the best way to approach a session. No preconceived notions of what I needed to achieve, just the pure enjoyment of wandering around with my camera in hand.

It was somewhat early in the morning as I was walking by a patch of grassland. There was low contrast both due to the soft lighting with overcast skies, and due to the limited color palette in view. This called to mind a feeling of peace and quiet, a dreamy sense of shelter from the elements and time.

Grassland II - Collse Zegge, The Netherlands

Grassland III - Collse Zegge, The Netherlands

Only a few moments later the sun broke through, and I spotted a corner of the same grassy patch that had a distinct background in the form of an old mill with walls out of planks painted black. Together with the harsher light, this created a strong contrast between the stalks of grass catching the sunlight and the looming black background. It evoked a sense of being ephemeral, and more exposed to the elements, whether that was sun or wind. The dreamy, quiet notion was replaced by feeling rushed to capture that stalk just right, before the wind would take to it again. 

Grassland VI - Collse Zegge, The Netherlands

Grassland V - Collse Zegge, The Netherlands

It’s intriguing to me how our emotions and state of mind during the creation of an image affect how we see the scene, and how that affects the final product. There really is an interplay between our minds and the scene, and that interplay is what allows us to make that image our own.