Visions of Paradise

[Hilary Hann]

I consider this a landscape but because I have added a light texture over it, I realise that I have to post it in OOTB. But I also realise that it isn't as OOTB as is often seen here, so apologies for that.

The original was photographed in Meru National Park, Kenya which is a gem of a park and great for landscapes. It has a Jurassic Park feel about it, with all the palm trees and small palm fronds in the undergrowth. Whilst it was ok as a colour image, I am working on b&w landscapes for an exhibition and the graphic nature of the vegetation, and the cloud detail all worked better in b&w, for me. The light texture is necessary to fit it with its fellow images.

C&C welcome, thanks.

[Dennis Bishop]

No apologies needed, Hillary. I'm glad you posted it here because, otherwise, I'd not have seen it. I can only guess what it would be like in color, but it certainly is right for black & white. You've composed it well, and you caught the clouds just right with those on the left pointing at that wonderful delta-shaped tree and the ones on the right forming a nice backdrop for it. You have a great range of tones, and the texture effect works well with the scene. I also like how the two small trees/bushes on the left start a line that curves up to the bird and back to the large tree on the right.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hilary, I think this works well in black and white and I like the slight texture. It really does look like Jurassaic Park. It has a lot of depth to it - you feel like you could walk right into it. Nice work - I hope we get to see the rest of the series And for those who might have missed the announcement, congratulations on your latest honor!!

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Cheryl, I will be rolling them out slowly as I fine tune them.

[Nick Palmieri]

This looks like a great image for B&W conversion. It's a good underlying composition and the range of tones in the image are perfect for B&W. The texture works perfect. TFS

[Hazel Grant]

Jurrasic park look, yes, but that bird adds that final touch of reality, a good thing. Dennis said it all so well, so I'll just say ditto. What is the title of this for the exhibit?

[Jay Sheinfield]

Nice job Hillary. For all the reasons already mentinoed. I also like the lighting of the scene. It almost glows.

[Judy Howle]

You have the most interesting and photogenic landscapes among your images! I love this composition and your processing fits it perfectly. Well done!

[Julie Kenward]

Hillary, what I like the most about this is the sharpness of the foliage/trees mixed with the soft textural feel of the clouds. Outstanding combination of the two!

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks everyone.

Hazel, I have to check what I intended the exhibit title to be ( I'm hopeless with remembering). The image will be named as I have named it here.

[Hazel Grant]

Just curious. Whatever you name it, it'll be a wonderful exhibit I know. I look forward to seeing your work here on bpn and to learning about how you develop it as you present it here too.

[Hilary Hann]

Hazel, I looked in my notes and I have 2 names earmarked, but am not sure until I have all the final images spread out.
"Paradise for the troubled soul"
"The Great Isolation of Spirit"

Both relate to the relative isolation I seem to bring to my subjects which may say more about me than the images themselves. Very hard to come up with a unifying title.

When I look at the images I've prepared already, they have the sort of feeling that makes me want to walk into the picture and disappear for a while, contain my thoughts and keep the modern world at bay. Does that sound corny?

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Hilary...this is fabulous. I love the B&W and the composition is great. Beautiful work as always!