Fitting the frame to the subject

I spotted this freshly split log whilst on a walk and the reds really stood out to me against the other more muted colours in the surrounding wood. My first task was to take a simple shot with not too much thought about composition. I like the photo but I think it would have looked much better had the focus been on the left hand end of the wood, rather than the right. This would have shown off the detail in the fibres at the split end of the log.

My second shot for which I had to fit the subject into the frame as tightly as possible was focused much better. Had the grain not been a point of interest in this shot, I feel it would have been quite boring; without anything in the background, the log has no context.

I enjoyed the third challenge of getting closer to the subject so that no edges could be seen. I was surprised to see so many colours and was really pleased with the contrast of the moist fibres where the log was split with the drier grain at the base of the knot. I also like the way this photo is split, with the darkness across the bottom half and much lighter shades at the top. I feel the focus could have been better but I was working with fairly slow shutter speeds as a result of the low forest light. I avoided using flash as I felt it would have burnt out some of the shadows which are essential to the shot.

 

My final shot shows what first attracted me to the log, the vivid reds against the greens and more the muted tones of the trees. I quite like the balance of this shot; the log and also the large tree close to the centre are balanced by my son in the distance, smaller and closer to the edge. His red hair, although hardly noticeable is a subtle reflection of the reds in the log. I have slightly de-saturated the forest to promote the reds and show how I saw the scene at the time.