Tree of life

My fascination with iPhoneography continues. Over the past few weeks I have amassed a whole portfolio's worth of tree images. All frames have been shot using the iPhone 4 in conjunction with the hipstamatic camera app.
Whilst studying this new batch of 'prints' I found myself questioning the reason for my strong interest in photographing trees. One could argue that as a photographer and naturalist, trees would be an obvious choice of subject matter. They often sit, isolated on the horizon, breaking the void between land and sky. A single tree in isolation, with the right lighting conditions, can produce a powerful visual document. 

In an effort to understand my interest further, I began to trace the history of man's complex relationship with trees. I found an excellent piece of work written by, woodturning expert, Brian Clifford. In his article, Trees, wood and people, Brian offers a concise insight into this special relationship. The version reproduced here is a summary of a 5,750 word document. A link to the master version can be found at the end of this post.

Trees, wood and people

Introduction 

Since they evolved trees have had a great influence on the shaping of the ecology of our planet and in determining the present arrangements of life on earth. Of particular importance for us has been the role of trees in the evolution of mankind and the development of human cultures and communities.

The origins of man 

Some 65 million years ago, just after the demise of the dinosaurs, a small rat-like species of mammal (now known as a prosimian) left the ground and took to life in the trees. Eventually after 50 million years had passed, this creature returned to the ground as the ancestor of man. 

The period spent in the environment of the trees was of great formative importance because it promoted many physical changes. These changes included a massive increase in body size, the development of paws into hands and 3D colour vision. The physical changes were mapped by an increase in the size and the capability of the brain. Thus prosimian developed into simian.

The increase in stature led to changes in posture which enabled some simians to stand upright. Eventually one of these species was able to walk on two legs.

It was these changes which led to the descent from the trees and eventually to homo sapiens. So it can be seen that without trees the evolution of prosimian into man would never have taken place. Without trees we would not be here. 

The development of human civilisation 

The development of civilisation has been dependent on wood based technologies. Where would we be without such aspects of our culture as fire, agriculture, the wheel, the use of metals, spinning, weaving, water and land based transport, building, and printing? Our technological culture could not have developed without wood. 

The wonder and the mystery 

On many people trees exert a powerful emotional influence. To many of us a tree is a thing of spiritual sustenance and renewal. The tree is the embodiment of mankind's condition: birth, life, death, regeneration and rebirth. The rising sap is the spirit of life and seeds and fruit are the symbols of fertility. 

The importance of trees 

Trees are the largest and longest living organisms on earth. To grow tall the tree has become a miracle of engineering and a complex chemical factory. It is able to take water and salts out of the earth and lift them up to the leaves, sometimes over 400 ft above. By means of photosynthesis the leaves combine the water and salts with carbon dioxide from the air to produce the nutrients which feed the tree. In this process, as well as wood, trees create many chemicals, seeds and fruit of great utility to man. Trees also remove carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, from the air.

Trees are of continued importance to the environment. Tropical rain forests have of particular significance; although they now occupy less than 6 per cent of the land surface of the earth they probably sustain more than half of the biological species on the planet.

Notwithstanding the debt we owe to trees, their emotive power, and their importance to other forms of life, the forested area of the earth is steadily being depleted. This is leading to the degradation of the environment and the extinction of many species. There is now a real danger that in the not very distant future man will destroy a large proportion of the present population of species on earth, create an uninhabitable environment, and then die out himself. If this happens it will not be the first time that a large proportion of the species on the earth have been extinguished.
© Brian Clifford

I would like to thank Brian Clifford for kindly allowing me to reproduce his work on this blog post. By my own admission I would have struggled to write such a concise article. It covers all the information and issues that I wanted to address and I am grateful for the collaboration. I recommend reading the article in full at: http://www.turningtools.co.uk/trees/treeart.html 

All images © Neil Atkinson.

Birdbrain

Glorious April sunshine has seen Spring arrive in style. The skies over the west midlands at the start of the month were clear and blue for almost five days straight. Rising temperatures and constant sunshine have encouraged nature to spring into action. I have witnessed some stunning examples of flowers in bloom, seen my first butterfly of the year (Peacock) and been teased awake by early morning bird song. 
In an attempt to kick start my days I rose early and headed for the hills of Clent, Worcestershire. The landscape here is predominantly wooded hillside (mostly deciduous) with the occasional pockets of heathland and farmland. Despite walking regularly in this area for over two years I am still finding new woodland trails which keep my forays varied and interesting.

The early starts felt even earlier due to the clocks moving forward. Obviously the natural world is unaware of this time change and continues to wake with the rising sun. At such an early hour, in springtime, the woodland is alive with bird song. Not quite the cacophonous dawn chorus of May but impressive nonetheless. The old favourites of robin, wren, blackbird and dunnock were all present plus the unexpected addition of linnet, whinchat and the early summer arrival of a chiffchaff.
Having been a keen ornithologist since childhood I have read many books on the subject and believe I have a good understanding of all things avian. Whilst listening, to the woodland melodies, I found myself asking the basic question, why do birds increase their singing during springtime? and more importantly, what factors contribute to this increased behaviour?

The official answer from Lloyd Scott of the RSPB is probably what most people already intuitively know:

"Perching birds, or 'songbirds' (passerines) account for nearly half the world’s 9,600 bird species. While singing behaviour varies among them, most takes place during the breeding season generally more in the early morning. This is when they are settled in their territory and are marking their presence to others in the area."


A common explanation and one I was already aware of but what I wanted to know was, what triggered this behaviour?  


In 2008 researchers from Scotland and Japan found that a key part of a birds brain is affected by seasonal change. When birds are exposed to more light, genes within cells on the surface of the brain get 'switched on'. The cells then release a thyroid stimulating hormone which causes the pituitary gland to secrete another hormone called gonadotrophins. This hormone causes the testes in a male bird to grow, in readiness for the breeding season and he begins to increase singing to attract a female into his territory.

Scientific research proves that the key element for a birds increased singing in spring time, is the lengthening of the days. Clearly this makes a lot of sense as most of the natural world begins to slowly emerge in spring from its winter slumber. Plants being the obvious example. Flora and fauna need only a few basic requirements to thrive; sunlight, temperature, water, air and nutrients from the earth (soil). These ingredients help plants to generate energy through the process of photosynthesis. A scientific fact that most of us learn at a very tender age. There are people who also believe that sound plays a big role in the development of plants - specifically the sound of bird song.

"More evidence of the power of sound is birdsong…have you noticed the chorus of birdsong, like a thousand elfin choirs, all day long in the spring?...There's a magical reason for this little-known phenomenon of Nature. The singing of the birds sets up a particular sound vibration that promotes the growth of the young leaves of trees, plants and flowers, so the birdsong is fairly constant all day long in the spring, while the new growth is occurring." 

Linda Goodman

As a firm believer in science I found it hard to comprehend the above statement when I read it. Linda Goodman was a writer, poet and astrologer who became prominent in the 1960's when her first book, Linda Goodman's Sun Signs (1968) was published. It was the first book written on the subject of astrology to ever make the New York Times Bestseller List. Goodman was also credited with helping to  increase awareness of new age philosophies and wrote further books outlining her theories on the natural world, reincarnation and karma. The aforementioned quotation comes from her book Star Signs: The Secret Codes of the Universe A Practical Guide for the New Age which was published in 1987. 

Although sceptical, of any theory that cannot be proven by scientific experimentation, this concept intrigued me and I wanted to know more.

Further reading led me to a man named Dan Carlson. Having witnessed starvation first hand, whilst fighting in the Korean war, Carlson vowed that he would spend the rest of his life trying to eradicate world hunger. On returning home to the States, he began to study horticulture and looked for ways to increase crop yields, specifically in areas where soil quality was very poor. Barren land produces little or no vegetation - if soil, in these areas, is not improved a plants roots system has nothing to work with. Carlson believed that if he could somehow bypass the plants root system and add nutrients in another way he might be able to increase the crop yield of plants growing in poor soil.

On the underside of a plants leaf are microscopic openings called stoma (plural stomata) which plants use to exchange gases contained within the atmosphere. The stomata also allow carbon dioxide to enter and oxygen to exit during photosynthesis. If specimens could absorb additional nutrients through their stomata, Carlson was convinced they would thrive.

Stomatal opening occurs during high humidity and high light intensity (daylight) - these are the scientific facts. There are however, a large number of individuals, including Dan Carlson, who believe sounds, of a certain frequency, can enhance the stomata's receptiveness. Carlson observed "...there is a symbiotic relationship between birds and plants." He believed the more birds were on his farm the more abundant the plant life. 

Equipped with this belief Carlson teamed up with, music teacher, Micheal Holtz and began creating sounds consonant with bird song. Holtz shared Carlson's vision and in addition believed "...that God had created the birds for more than just freely flying about and warbling. Their very singing must somehow be intimately linked to the mysteries of seed germination and plant growth."

After much testing the pair finally refined a sound that matched the exact pitch of a song birds chorus.

Recordings were made and played back to plants. During these musical interludes the leaves (stomata) were sprayed with a foliar solution containing essential nutrients. The process of 'Sonic Bloom' was born and continues to this day. Carlson still sells the product - a C.D. and foliar spray, from his headquarters in America via his website originalsonicbloom.com. He has many disciples and it would appear that his plants grow strong. I would suggest that any well tended plant, grown in the right conditions with added nutrients would thrive. The website naturalnews.com is one of a number of sites that gives 'Sonic Bloom' the thumbs up. After waxing lyrical about the benefits of 'Sonic Bloom' they offer this advice, "Doesn't work by itself. Plants still need good soil, nutrition, water and light." Surely, that's all a plant needs to grow - with additional fertiliser, in the form of a nutrient spray they would undoubtedly grow healthier. 

I like the idea that bird song somehow contributes to the growth and overall development of plants, it's the sort of theory that appeals to my sensibilities. However, science tells us that plants do not have a central nervous system, nor do they have auditory organs. 

Biological matter including living and non-living organisms are constantly interacting within our atmosphere, we know them as ecosystems or food webs. Much of what occurs, we do not see, we just get the tip of the iceberg - fragrant flowers in bloom, bird song etc. If science can one day prove unequivocally that sonic vibrations enhance plant growth I would welcome the discovery. In the meantime I am content walking through the landscape, soaking up the warm, spring sunshine and enjoying everything the natural world has to offer my senses.

Shooting with the Hip

Whilst out walking in the early morning sunshine this week, I set myself the task of getting to grips with the Hipstamatic, camera, application for the iPhone - regular readers of the blog will know that I have had the phone grafted onto my right hand. Having downloaded the software over three weeks ago I finally decided to put the app through its paces. In previous weeks I have only experimented briefly with the Hipstamatic software and found the results a little disappointing.

The basic principle of Hipstamatic is that it turns your iPhone into a camera. When the app opens you are presented with what looks like the back of a film camera, including viewfinder, shutter and flash buttons. There is another button that allows you to toggle between this screen and the front of the camera. The front screen lets you access various lens, film and flash types. The app has become known as the plastic camera with the golden button.

Rear view of UI featuring Old Glory Camera Case

You have to purchase Hipstamatic through the app store at a cost of £1.49. It comes bundled with four lenses, three film types and three flash guns, all producing different effects. Additional 'hipstapaks' can be bought at an extra cost of 69p, these include more lenses, films and flashguns. Although Hipstamatic is digital photography the aim of the app is to make images look like they were shot in an analog era. The tagline on the Hipstamatic website reads:

'….an application that brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty and fun of plastic toy cameras from the past."

Front view featuring Americana lens

I didn't take to using Hipstamatic straight away and struggled to like any of the equipment in the bundled starter pack. The combination of John S lens and Blanko film was probably the pick of the bunch. I really had to make a concerted effort to shoot using Hipstamatic and not the iPhones regular camera, which has a pretty good user interface, complete with AE and AF lock. I think this is the function I miss most when using Hipstamatic, that and the speed at which the camera functions. That said, the app's main aim is to recreate the imperfections of an analog toy camera, so with this in mind I persevered and purchased more hipstapaks. 

Americana Lens, Blanko Freedom13, No Flash

Of the new 'paks' I purchased, the one I took to immediately was America, it contains a lens, two films (one mono and one colour) and a retro camera case. I instantly liked the combination of Americana lens and the colour film Blanko Freedom13. This film seemed to suit the outdoor conditions of sunshine and bright blue skies. Its effects evoke memories of using, out of date, analog Fuji film stock.

John S Lens, Blanko Film, No Flash

I wasn't as impressed with the 'paks' mono film, US1776. It's a little too 'soft' for my liking. A much 'harder' mono film containing more contrast and deeper blacks is BlacKeys SuperGrain found in the Camden Hipstapak. I like the results this film gives when used with the Americana lens. Most of the combinations I liked seemed to benefit from shooting in bright, sunny, outdoor conditions. So far I have accumulated eight lenses and eleven different film types. From these my favourites are combinations of the following: 

Americana or Jonh S Lenses with BlacKeys SuperGrain, Blanko or Blanko Freedom13 films.

The other lenses and film types really haven't impressed me so far. I am not sure if this is because they don't suit the weather conditions I have been shooting in this week, so I will reserve judgement until I have tested them under different lighting conditions.

Americana Lens, BlacKeys SuperGrain Film, No Flash

It is worth noting that the final image in Hipstamatic is definitive - no further editing can be done and an original, unaltered image is not saved to your camera roll. Once you have chosen the lens and film and 'touched' the shutter button you are committed to that style. However, a recent update, to the software, allows the user to 'share' an image to Instagram where additional filters can be added. Personally I'm not all that keen on over-manipulating digital images but I did find that subtle tweaks in Instagram did improve some of my Hipstamatic prints. The image below was shot using Hipstamatic and then shared to Instagram, here I added the Lux effect which increases vibrancy and brings out detail.

Americana Lens, Blanko Freedom13.  Lux effect in Instagram

I find working with Hipstamatic hugely different to working with Instagram and apple's own camera app. I think you need to be a lot more considered, when composing shots and generally work more methodically (which is no bad thing). At least now I have a grasp of the application and what it's capable of. It is a lot of fun to use and you can achieve some great results with a little experimentation. I do find the user interface a little sluggish and would hope to see this rectified in a future update along with the inclusion of an AE (auto exposure) lock button. Maybe I'm asking too much as these changes probably go against the whole ethos of Hipstamatic. For further information visit the Hipstamatic website. 

Americana Lens, Blanko Freedom13, No Flash

#streetphotography

This was going to be a very brief blog entry containing minimal text and a few examples of images that I have shot over the past week. It turned into a bit of a project after I began researching the subject of street photography. I already had a good understanding of this subject as I studied documentary photography for three years. However, after a little digging I was quite surprised to find some antiquated views surrounding the genre of street photography - viewpoints that somewhat irked me. For this reason the blog entry is longer than I expected.

'Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places…street photography uses the techniques of straight photography in that it shows a pure vision of something, like holding up a mirror to society". Wikipedia

Obviously this is a basic definition and one that I would not wholly disagree with. However 'subjects in candid situations' does seem to imply that images must contain people if they are to be allowed in to the 'street photography' category. Personally, I don't see this as a necessity. I do wholeheartedly agree with the statement that street photography can act as a mirror and reflect what's going on in our society. A social document of a subject, or place, in our historic timeline is a worthy achievement and essential for future historical study. In my opinion the photographer must also include something of the 'self' in their work. It is not enough to just present a scene objectively, the final image should communicate something of the photographer's own psyche.

"Photography is a mute medium, but if you look at picture after picture you begin to know something about the place, but you also begin to know about the person who made it". Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz is an Amercan photographer who started photographing the streets of New York city in the late 1960's. Meyerowitz was influenced by the French photographers, Eugéne Atget and Henri Cartier-Bresson, two leading pioneers in the development of street photography. Cartier-Bresson, in particular, is considered by many to be the father of 20th century photojournalism. Bresson's black and white images were made with a 35mm rangefinder camera and he believed that there was an exact moment in time that the shutter should be pressed. He called this 'the decisive moment'.

During the time that Meyerowitz was photographing the streets of New York many photo-journalists were still working in black and white. Meyerowitz, himself, carried two camera's for a short period, one loaded with B/W film and the other with colour transparency. By the early 1970's colour technology had advanced so much that it became easier and less expensive to work in colour. Reassessing his philosophy and approach to photography Meyerowitz said:

 "…if we accept the idea that a photograph basically just describes things, then a colour photograph describes more things….Because of using colour my efforts on the street moved away from the “caught” moment toward a more dispersed observation, toward a non-hierarchical image in which everything played an equal role; the people on the street, the architecture, the quality of the day, the angle of the light, the weight of the shadows, the simultaneity of minor events".

Working successfully as a photographer on the streets of New York and using colour film, Meyerowitz helped to shatter some of the preconceptions surrounding the genre of street photography. His photography from this era, in my opinion, contains some of the best images ever made and he successfully paved the way for a new generation of photojournalists to represent the world in colour.

Forty years on and technology has advanced so much that a huge number of people now carry smartphones (with built in cameras) everywhere they go. Surely a street photographers dream? Well, certainly for me. There are, however, some purists out there who believe that all street photography should be shot using a 35mm rangefinder with B/W film.
I haven't got a problem with any 'one way' of working - go with whatever kit you have or feel comfortable using. However, to suggest that an image not be allowed into the category of street photography simply because it wasn't shot using a rangefinder camera with mono film is ludicrous.

Whilst researching this post I came across a lot of photographers who cling to these strict guidelines. American photographer Chris Weeks being one of the most vehement:

"An SLR has its place. So does a view camera. As does a little digi. Even medium format. None of the aforementioned belongs around the neck or on the shoulder or hidden under the jacket of the street photographer. This is the world of the rangefinder. Go ahead chop down a f*@%ing tree with a hammer".

And on the use of colour he writes:

"Colour should not offer it's own definition of what's going on. Street photography is black and white".

You could be forgiven for thinking that Mr. Week's manual 'Street photography for the purist' was written in the times of Watergate, Attica and the Vietnam war. It was published in 2006. So despite us living in the 21st century and having access to a myriad of new technologies there are a large number of people who cling to the notion that street photography can only be produced using a rangefinder camera loaded with monochromatic film.

My opinion would be that new technologies should be embraced and if you feel comfortable, use them. If you want to shoot colour as opposed to mono, do so for the right reasons, stick with your convictions. Technology brings choice. Choice brings creative freedom.

Stillness & Time

Phil Morgan and I visited the Lake District this weekend to research suitable locations for a new landscape photography workshop. The course will be based in the picturesque village of Coniston, Cumbria. The surrounding area provides numerous vantage points for the photographer to hone their skills.

Tarn Hows is approximately 2 miles northeast of Coniston and is managed by the National Trust. This beautiful tarn is fed by a number of valley and basin mires. The water drains out of the tarn via a cascading waterfall (Tom Gill) which offers some great photo opportunities.

Lake Coniston was formed by glaciation during the last ice age. It is approximately five miles long and half a mile wide and has several jetties along its shoreline. These jetties have been photographed many, many times by photographers over the years and are becoming somewhat of a cliché. I was determined not to photograph the 'obvious shot' during this visit and worked long and hard to give this old classic a new lease of life. I think I have managed to do this. By singling out a wooden post on the jetty I have tried to create a new abstract representation of this photographers favourite.

The Old Man of Coniston is the highest peak of the Coniston fells. It  is 2,634 ft. (803 m) and can be a pretty tough walk to the summit. If you're not in a rush to reach the top there are some great places to stop off during your ascent. Abandoned slate mines remain almost intact, giving an insight into the 800 year old industry.

Further up, the small tarn of Low Water provides a welcome resting place before the final push toward the summit. The images below are from a previous visit in September. Truly stunning views of the vistas below make the trek worthwhile despite the added weight of camera equipment and a bulky tripod.