Thursday, March 29, 2007
at Carn Powell
Looking East from pretty well the most Westerly point of the Brecon Beacons. I think that that is Carreg yr Ogof top right. Less than quarter of a mile behind me start fields and the comparatively lush pasture land of the Towy valley in Carmarthenshire.
Permalink / posted by and copyright of John Ellis : 7:00 AM
Comments:
The harsh lighting makes this landscape look very desolate. The dry stone wall leads across the horizon and gives a feel for the extent of the environment.
The light is harsh, but brilliant, almost sparkly as well. I can't quite reconcile this with the landscape.
The foreground seems a little empty. Cropping out the bottom quarter would change this.
And you are standing on.......?
I've walked the Brecons, but I can't say that I know them well. I like the way that this captures the transition from farmland to moorland.
I can imagine an interesting series based upon that transition. So much of western Britain lives on that particular edge.
I definitely wouldn't want to see this cropped. As I progressively cover the bottom edge with my hand the photo becomes less distinctive and more postcard like. No, the foreground is necessary to make me a part of the picture.
Walk anyone?
Given that this was one of the few sunny days in February, it is not surprising that it looks harsh! Yes, standing on the wall and hoping the farmer wouldn't appear!
Matt, I was hoping that the increasing series of inverted 'V's would supply the interest and wanted the wide angle to accentuate that.
A series of the 'transition' would be not only interesting but quite an important record because a lot of fields made from moorland since the war will be lost as farmers lose their subsidies and find that it is no longer economically viable to maintain them except as common land for sheep - or diversifying into horse or mountain bike trails.
I think the fact that the lighting is harsh adds much to this simple scene. That wall seems to stretch on for miles. Though I do find the bottom left shadow a little distracting there is plenty on either side of the wall to keep me diverted. The angle of shot adds to the sense of the rolling hills. It also adds the level of balance required to stand on the wall to catch the shot? And as you point out, the series of 'Vs' add some good geometry to the proceedings.
I think I went to the Brecons when I was a young boy and I remember that the sheep took a liking to bourbon biscuits. Can't blame them looking at the roughness of that grass.
Hmm, I see what you are saying about the inverted Vs, but I think the bright, empty patch of scrubby grass in the bottom right quarter overwhelms them.
I see the Vs now, but not so obvious until mentioned. The shadow is a bit much, but I agree I'd not want to see the bottome cropped. I might think to crop a bit off the left side though.
The wall looks like it would not be too easy to stand on! I'm curious about all those rocks it is made of, plus what looks like more on the ground. If this is the natural state of things, must be quite a job to end up with green smooth-looking pasture like that in the background.
...and they still make bourbon biscuits and I'm sure that the sheep would still eat them!
Christina, you have hit on one of the anomalies of farming here - subsidies after the war encouraged farmers on marginal land to expend a lot of effort clearing stones; some of which can be seen in dry stone walls and some of which went for aggregrate. That effort would not be expended today because it is cheaper to import from abroad - which is where we started: to make the country self-sufficient in the production of food!!
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The foreground seems a little empty. Cropping out the bottom quarter would change this.
I've walked the Brecons, but I can't say that I know them well. I like the way that this captures the transition from farmland to moorland.
I can imagine an interesting series based upon that transition. So much of western Britain lives on that particular edge.
I definitely wouldn't want to see this cropped. As I progressively cover the bottom edge with my hand the photo becomes less distinctive and more postcard like. No, the foreground is necessary to make me a part of the picture.
Walk anyone?
Matt, I was hoping that the increasing series of inverted 'V's would supply the interest and wanted the wide angle to accentuate that.
A series of the 'transition' would be not only interesting but quite an important record because a lot of fields made from moorland since the war will be lost as farmers lose their subsidies and find that it is no longer economically viable to maintain them except as common land for sheep - or diversifying into horse or mountain bike trails.
I think I went to the Brecons when I was a young boy and I remember that the sheep took a liking to bourbon biscuits. Can't blame them looking at the roughness of that grass.
The wall looks like it would not be too easy to stand on! I'm curious about all those rocks it is made of, plus what looks like more on the ground. If this is the natural state of things, must be quite a job to end up with green smooth-looking pasture like that in the background.
Christina, you have hit on one of the anomalies of farming here - subsidies after the war encouraged farmers on marginal land to expend a lot of effort clearing stones; some of which can be seen in dry stone walls and some of which went for aggregrate. That effort would not be expended today because it is cheaper to import from abroad - which is where we started: to make the country self-sufficient in the production of food!!