The subtlety of forest compositions

[@johnmarriott9166]

A masterclass in thought, reason and application. Entertaining and educational at the same time. Very well done Steve 👍

[@SteveONions]

Glad you enjoyed it John.

[@RichardReeve_K1W1]

Love the fact you are shooting quiet and subtle images whilst wearing a jacket that is so bright I nearly needed sunglasses to watch the video. 😀👍

[@SteveONions]

😀

[@impressionsoflight9263]

Yet another example of “You don’t take a picture, you make a picture”, as demonstrated by the master. 👍🏻

[@SteveONions]

Thank you 😊

[@oldfilmguy9413]

Isn’t it funny how nothing was jumping out at you, and then you got your last two shots which were simply gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful!

[@SteveONions]

I think I got my eye in, after that it was a lot easier.

[@TITAOSTEIN]

Wonderful! Thank you!

[@rgarlinyc]

Steve... your photography never ceases to astound and enchant. That phalanx of motionless Silver Birches in black and white! And then the twisted Birch trunk taken with your Bronica. Absolutely, mesmerizingly beautiful...👏🏻👏🏻

[@SteveONions]

Thank you 🙂

[@jamesdecross1035]

Nice one - love those birch trees at 7:08.

[@sanclewphotographic]

What a beautiful image the last photograph of the Silver Birch great composition just one of your best.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Colin.

[@toine1915]

Hi Steve. Thanks again for this instructive video, friend. These are the videos I'm looking for. So you see that even if you have been photographing for more than 35 years, you continue to learn and discover. Beautiful photos you have taken. Thank you, Steve. Antoine.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Antoine, I’m glad you enjoy them.

[@carbonejack]

Love the shot of the birch trees across the lake. Birch tree trunk shot is nice as well...nice tones. Really enjoy your videos.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Jack.

[@laurencesmith1490]

This is great, Steve. Our local rain forest valleys are a chaotic mass of busy compositions, and I think your suggestions are valuable.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Laurence.

[@danem2215]

The final image is definitely the star of the show. Great choice in composition.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Dane.

[@AliasJimWirth]

Too much going on that it took a few days to view this episode, but so glad I finally was able to watch it. Nice video, Steve.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks James, glad you enjoyed it.

[@RichB-js8ct]

Love that last image - very nice!

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Rich 👍

[@andrewtonkin7643]

Thanks for the latest great video Steve. Got me out the door this morning with the medium format. Not quite what I was expecting but another "Eliot Porter" type subject and lighting 🙂

[@SteveONions]

Great to hear Andrew, hope you got something for your efforts.

[@paulcrawley7321]

Great images Steve and a favourite area of mine that I know so well and I'm glad to say I've returned to with my family.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Paul. It’s a bit more challenging to shoot there now, they’ve removed too many of my favourite trees 🙁

[@MpenziYako]

Most inspiring. Makes you realize that there are plenty of great subjects to find in what most people would think was a rather boring forested place. Fantastic and thanks Mark

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Mark, glad you enjoyed it.

[@jasongold6751]

Steve seeing and taking are so far apart, when one works with film. In day of film only, one still did a few! Film was difficult. A few good one's is better than wasting a roll. Once more giving great insight, to a day and contents. Bravo.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Jason.

[@eltinjones4542]

Great detail Steve 📷👍

[@SteveONions]

Glad you enjoyed it Eltin.

[@kenblair2538]

Great images and some great ideas, thanks, Steve. KB

[@SteveONions]

You’re welcome Ken.

[@joseluisavilagonzalez9626]

Great photography, great photographer!!

[@SteveONions]

Many thanks José 😊

[@ramvasudev2024]

Superb presentation. I like your thought process.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Ram.

[@EvilDaikon]

Thanks for posting another great video - I hope this inspires me to linger a little longer in spots I find interesting. All to often something will catch my interest - I put the camera to my eye and snap the photo - and move on. As if I was on some tight schedule. When I get home and look at my images, all to often I see opportunities for me to have explored a different angle, or altered my position slightly.

[@SteveONions]

Sometimes it doesn’t pay off to spend a lot of time working out compositions, there just aren’t any good ones there! The difficult part is knowing when this is the case versus the times persistence pays off.

[@azfactor7875]

I would certainly encourage you to consider shooting a series. Doing so, as well you know, can provide a particular kind of focus-pardon the pun-to you work.

[@SteveONions]

Very true Bob, I’ve been working on my back catalogue for months with this in mind.

[@erichstocker8358]

A difficult environment to get good photos. Woodlands are so chaotic and it can be difficult to isolate scenes that make good photos. You did it very nicely. Very instructive for me as I have access to areas like this and struggle to get compositions. It is easier in old forests with strange shape trees and/or roots. But, this woodlands with new growth it requires more imagination to compose. I think you succeeded very well.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Erich, traditional forests are definitely easier to work with, fewer interesting trees in plantations.

[@franzscaramelli2651]

Great video!

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Franz.

[@marike1100]

Dead, fallen or cut trees don’t normally appeal to me as subjects. Too sad, too hopeless. But with a well shot Ilford medium format image, almost any subject looks beautiful.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Markus.

[@oudviola]

Good timing Steve, today Montreal is covered in frozen rain so very interesting for black and white imaging icy tree branches in the park. I was mindful of your process with busy settings to crop and compose extra carefully. Used my all mechanical Yashica D, to avoid getting the Bronica's electronics wet, so was aware of the square format too. Thanks for sharing your hard-won experience with us!

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Mark, I hope you came away with good images from the Yashica.

[@lensman5762]

I have always commented, in other channels, that medium and large format film photography, is a very tight discipline. It is slow and deliberate. I think you have aptly demonstrated my point by the your methodical, yet artistic approach to photograph the bendy Birch tree. Lovely photography, Steve.

[@SteveONions]

Thank you 😊

[@richardhale9664]

Loved the last two shots!

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Richard.

[@michaelharmon721]

Steve interesting images, I enjoy the explanation you give about your shots. Keep up the great work.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Michael, glad you enjoyed it.

[@izzyleicanut9190]

Beautifully done, Steve. Woodlands and forests are very tricky for me, no matter how frequent I am there. My favourite are the birch trees shot. Classic and elegant. Definitely a keeper . Cheers

[@SteveONions]

It is a tricky place to work but this makes it more rewarding 🙂

[@SimonCheng-pw1ol]

👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@sjacobson005]

Extremely fine grain with the Ilford XP2. I love Steve's persistence in his search for a good subject. Great work!

[@SteveONions]

Thank you 🙂

[@thevalleywalker]

That was a a nice calming & pleasant wander through your woodland whilst tucking into my porridge & banana breakfast ☺ I particularly like the wet woodland shoots you do (Delamere?) as we have nothing like it down this way - it's a very different type of environment. Your shots are always an interesting mix that you wouldn't see in other people's woodland shots too. Loved the detail on the silver birch shot. We have some old gnarly oaks in a woodland not far from me & I would love to see what you would come away with from there. Right, time to dress and take a little bimble whilst there is some sunshine out there - it's been wet wet wet for too long. atb Al

[@SteveONions]

I prefer the older forests Alan, modern pines are uniformly boring so it’s a case of finding the other species that are far more photogenic.

[@thevalleywalker]

@@SteveONions Well there are some stonking old woodlands in North Wales as you know but we have a few decent ones down this way - just waiting your camera and skills ☺

[@simonbarnes7124]

Well Steve, you've got a great photographic eye as always. Beautiful images as usual where most photographers would just miss. It's all well and good cropping square in PS, but actually shooting in square format helps with composition in the field I think.

[@SteveONions]

That’s true Simon, I always prefer to stick with the native format a camera has. I will crop other formats more frequently but nearly always leave my 6x6 images as squares.

[@danncorbit3623]

Very nice sequence. Each image got bettet and better (to my eye, anyways). The sound levels seemed low to me today. I turned on closed caption so I could understand everything

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Dann. I think I’ve sorted out the sound now, new microphone problems.

[@RichardMaguire110]

With regard to the tree you want out of shot. I have suggestion, carry a chainsaw as part of your phographic equipment.

[@SteveONions]

Followed by a video of the forest police carrying me away 😀

[@steveschnetzler5471]

Lovely and peaceful, thanks. Do you have some normal/standard ways to use up the last few frames of film when you get home (so they are not wasted)?

[@SteveONions]

I often shoot the last few frames at home, handheld with an estimated meter reading. This is a useful test of my ability to read lighting and comes in handy if my spotmeter fails.

[@jonathanoldbuck3246]

Quiet and subtle like yourself. Will the silver birch print be in your Etsy shop? It is soooooo seductive.

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Jonathan. I’m not sure about that image, it took a lot of processing in Lightroom to balance it up and that may not translate well in the darkroom.

[@thenutter2003]

really enjoy watching your videos and how you come up with the shot i watched your video on using up your film stocks how are you getting on with that for me i see some film for sale at a good price and i get it even thou i really don't need it keep up the great work.

[@SteveONions]

I have used a fair bit of the mono but actually sold off all my colour negative stuff before Christmas. I’ll confess to buying some XP2 super as I do like it a lot 🙂

[@danbuchman7497]

Beautiful images Steve, I particularly enjoy the 1st shot as it’s rather reminiscent of a grave for the tree (too dark of thought? Sorry.). The birches are very classic and well composed. A quick question, do you ever both print and scan the same negative? I’m wondering if you see a quality difference in the 2 images? I still feel there is a difference between film & digital tech when using an enlarger with much less control in the darkroom vs the micro control in software, even when working with a scanned negative. I guess it’s all the more amazing to look at old master photography using analog only. Cheers!

[@SteveONions]

Thanks Dan. I do scan and darkroom print the same negative from time to time. For really tricky negatives I prefer the digital approach, no point struggling and burning through dozens of sheets of paper. The look is quite different, digital is sharper and more contrasty by default with much more pronounced grain. Darkroom prints are more natural to my eye with a more gentle transition between tones.

[@TheSteveGullick]

Hi Steve, I do enjoy your videos and find them very informative. I use a Bron SQ, but would love to know your recommendation for a portable tripod, my manfrotto weighs a ton. Cheers

[@SteveONions]

Hi Steve. I use relatively light tripods for nearly all my photography. I’ve never had any shake problems with cameras that use lead shutters, unlike large focal plane designs. I usually carry a Velbon 655 with Manfrotto MG460 head, this combination being my standard for over 12 years now.

[@TheSteveGullick]

@@SteveONions thanks for this. I've just ordered the same. Hope I'm as successful with it as you are!

[@Prashant.Khapane]

Some really nice images indeed. Is that a special lens hood with possibility to slide filters in to, Steve?

[@SteveONions]

It’s the official Bronica hood for the 65/80 lenses (but also suits the longer ones with 67mm barrels). It is a bayonet and allows an 85mm square filter to drop straight in.

[@jamesdecross1035]

An early one, Steve.

[@SteveONions]

Indeed James 🙂