The fall closure of the campground provided us with an opening to get closer to nature. Walking in the open forest is refreshing and restorative, but creating photographs that communicate those feelings to people who can't have that experience is a more complicated endeavor.
We live a short drive from a forested state park close to the sea. It is a busy place in summer and the campgrounds are usually full. In late autumn, the campgrounds close to campers and the few people who visit are free to wander the paths through the campground and enjoy the quiet forest setting.
Photographed from the road leading into the closed campground. Pointing the camera up eliminates the road and gate and, similar to what we do in person, focuses attention on the delicacy of the changing foliage in the fog-enveloped bigleaf maple tree. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
The campground has become a favorite place to visit—especially as the seasonal rains begin and travel is still restricted due to the pandemic. Like so many similar places throughout the country, it is a quiet and restorative locale.
We don't often photograph in campgrounds, but the freedom to wander alone in the small forest gives us the time and opportunity to look for compositions. And the changing color of the vegetation ensures that each visit will be different.
We at Iris Arts like to create photographs for our clients in healthcare that evoke the pleasant feelings we get from our own exposure to nature. That usually means non-threatening, familiar, inviting images that steer away from deep shadows and harsh contrast and strive for a light and airy feel.
Not every scene will yield that kind of photograph. Forests in sunlight are particularly problematic—not only because of the harsh contrast, but also because forests tend to be visually chaotic. We can minimize the issue of contrast by photographing in cloudy conditions or fog, but we often struggle to create order out of the typical woodland chaos. That is best accomplished through careful composition, as we illustrate below.
A forest of bigleaf maples and black birch trees was photographed from across the road leading into the state park. That vantage point, and the photographer's care in visually separating the tree trunks, renders a less chaotic scene. The open canopy above the road allows more skylight to penetrate the forest. The result is a more orderly, light and airy woodland than we usually see—one that reveals, not conceals; one that welcomes exploration, not one that is scary. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
By contrast, this large stand of vine maples were found deeper in the forest. The leafy canopy felt light, but the forest floor was dark. Skinny, dark tree trunks make nice graphic elements, but the lower half of the image needed brightening to create the desired feeling of openness. The final image, processed to make it seem evenly lit, still has a chaotic subject and won't meet our criteria for display in hospitals. Photo:© Donald J. Rommes
Side-lighting accentuates the verticality of a linear stand of tall trees bordering a campsite. Beyond the trees is a hill that gradually drops to the marshy clearing in the distance. Between the two, a thick and tangled growth of trees is partly veiled by mist. While the background may be somewhat chaotic, the orderly stand of trees in the foreground, combined with the overall sense of light, make this a restful, easy-to-explore image. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
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