Capturing Nature's Grandeur: Charlie Waite's Landscape Photos
1. LO1 – Photograph analysis
Photographer 1: Charlie Waite
Category: Landscape
Charlie Waite is known mostly for his landscape images taken in England. This
image is in Japan, however.
Landscape photos are attempts to encapsulate the image one sees when outside,
and show the world in all its glory whilst out in the wild. They show either
natural or man-made objects or landscapes in the world, and rarely contain
people. If they do, then the person is never the main focus of the image.
Photograph #1
This is a landscape shot of Mount Fuji in Japan, by Charlie Waite. It shows the
mountain, a section of sky above, and the lake below. The photograph contains
no photoshopping (other than brightness and contrast tweaking) so the photo
had to be set up perfectly in terms of weather, timing, and lining up the image.
2. The photo was taken to capture the sheer scale of Mount Fuji; there is a
substantially sized hill in front of it, yet even though the mountain is miles away,
it towers over the hill. The photo is £600 for a 40cmx40cmprint, which clearly
indicates that Waite was planning to sell photos for a high price to make a profit
& get a reward for his trip to Japan.
All of the lighting on the image is natural lighting from the sun, which appears to
be out of frame and behind the camera.
Depth of field is no too prominent in this image, but if there is a large focus
difference then it is the lake in the foreground that is out of focus.
The framing of the image is important, as Mount Fuji takes up the entire width of
the frame to indicate its size – yet the vertical framing shows just how far away it
is. The vertical framing also displays the reflection of the mountain in the lake
and uses symmetry to make a very unique photo.
It appears that the image has been cropped to cut off the left and right hand sides
of the image to focus more on the mountain and vertical focus of the image.
The grey and white of the image shows a low temperature – including the snow-
covered peak.
I believe that the meaning of this image is to be physically imposing and epic. It
demonstrates the huge size and scale of the mountain, and the way that the rule
of thirds is used (the lake taking up most of the image) makes the mountain look
even bigger as it takes up most of the space past the lake.
3. Photograph #2
This is a photo of a countryside landscape in Wiltshire, England. Again, it is a
landscape photo by Charlie Waite. The image was taken in an attempt to capture
the unique and beautiful landscape of the English countryside – there is a huge
contrast between the bright green of the grass & the darker surroundings such
as the sky. This is a non-edited image, which means that we know that this is a
unique scenario – Waite would most likely have wanted to capture this as soon
as he saw it.
4. The majority of the photo is a contrast between vertical and horizontal lines,
with the two edges of the dip in the land roughly following the rule of thirds.
Each edge of the small grassy canyon is effectively a separation line,
approximately 1/3rd of the way across the screen. Then there is the crest of the
hill & the contrasting dark forest behind which created another third line, this
time horizontally across the top third of the screen.
In terms of lighting, there is a huge contrast between the light and dark sections
of the picture. The sky is very dark and gloomy, but a break in the cloud is
lighting up the foreground to create a contrasting scene of bright and dark. There
is also a dark forest in the background of the photo, which is a darker shade of
green than the grass – this creates a shading affect and a focus on the colour
green.
Waite has used no special focusing or depth of field effects, as the entire image is
in focus.
The image looks cropped, most likely it was a wider landscape image but was
cropped to better suit the rule of thirds and the vertical-focused effect of the
photo.
The narrative to this image is very much English and reserved – it puts across a
story of peace & calm, in the small section of the world that is the British
countryside. But then in the background and the sky there is a darker tone,
signifying a darker undertone to the image.
The setting of the image is Uffington, in Wiltshire, England. The image contains a
grassy canyon in the foreground & a bright green plain as well as a selection of
farmers’ fields, a darker green forest, and a small town in the darkness of the
forest.
5. The meaning of this image is to capture how dramatic the English countryside
can be. Everybody perceives it to be sunny, boring and happy. This photo,
however, shows a huge contrast between shades and colours, making it seem a
lot more dramatic.