So lovely, Lin - the images look ghostly, ethereal. Your historical references made me think of the mists of time; being in the past, present and future all in one spot.
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback Anne - I'm so pleased that you enjoy reading my posts and they transport you to the places I visit. Substack is a wonderful place for sharing our journeys.
What beautifully written text, and those photos are incredible. It's easier to take photos on a moody, foggy day like this, but your compositions are simply on another level (geometry, leading lines, etc...), which sets your monochrome photography apart from the rest.
Wow...thank you for your kind comments Ari. I've only been sharing my work here for a short time, but the incredible writers in this space have been such an inspiration. I hope that is starting to shine through in my own writing!
Your photographs are amazing, Lin! Projects like these are challenging but also very rewarding (and fun). Take your time, don‘t rush it. It helps to write down, what the idea and concept (the red thread) of the project is. At least roughly. It definitely helps you selecting the photographs. Small prints you can hold in your hands, move around on the table (or floor) works best for me. This way I get a better feeling which photos want to be together (they will tell you) and which don‘t work at all. The sequencing takes usually the longest. Once I think, I am happy with the sequence I leave it laying out for days (weeks) and come back to it again and again.
And if you feel like this project is too big to start with - start with a small one. A simple zine from a winter walk or else with only a few photos. The insights you gain are very helpful. I am not a professional in any sense, but if you have a question feel free to reach out! All the best for your project.
Thank you so much Susanne for your kind offer, feedback and advice...everything you say makes sense and is very helpful. I have started to write about this as ideas and thoughts about the project come to mind - and mind mapping which I find helps as I'm a visual person. Using 6x4 prints for selection and sequencing and building the narrative is the way forward once I've prepared the images. Your idea on smaller projects makes sense and this could end up as several small projects bound together which could make it easier.
The Valley is something I've been documenting for nine years and there's a lot of images to get through but I have set myself the target of completing it this year and it will certainly keep me busy with all that extra time I'll have very soon!😊
Lin, what an exciting project for your beautiful images! I’m looking forward to hearing more about how it progresses.
For me personally, when approaching creative projects, I like to iterate and let ideas evolve and solidify as I go. For example, I start by roughing out or mocking up different ideas with limited details at first to get a feel for each one. Then, I take the ideas I like best a step further, refining them and adding more details until I reach a final design. This approach lets me explore various concepts fairly quickly in the early stages because I don’t invest too much time into lower-fidelity mockups before moving forward with the ideas I prefer. I also find that when working this way, my ideas about the project can evolve beyond my original preconceived notions of what it should be.
Good luck with the project, regardless of how you choose to proceed!
Thank you Todd for your kind comment and input. Your approach makes sense - trying out different ideas roughly to see which works. I was mind-mapping various 'ideas' yesterday afternoon to do just this - I find that helps to spark ideas as well. I'll post more images and thoughts here as I make progress.
Thank you for this, Lin. Your photos are wonderful (good call on the black and white approach) and your words help me understand and see a part of the world I have not been lucky enough to experience. The development vs. natural backstory is also interesting. Same everywhere, with different results, I think.
Thank you Tom - b&w does add to the ethereal effect of fog, I'm glad they've taken you on a journey here. I like to be pretty open about my thought process and it's great to get feedback which has proved to be confirming about the next steps for me on this project.
Beautiful writing! I especially enjoyed your journal entry. And, what can I say, the images are stunning!!! I love them in black and white.
As far as sequencing, I agree with the comment above about making small prints and laying them out differently. That and writing about the project helps me a lot to eventually find a natural flow. Of course, picking the strongest images first is always good. Being very strict with about that decreases the amount down. Kind of like decluttering. :) You then slowly add images back in…
Thank you so much Manuela - yes I think the black and white works so well, especially with fog.
It's interesting you mention writing about the project - I've been keeping a journal of many of my visits and thoughts on what I want the project to be, it is very helpful and a reminder of my wanderings there. I think the sequencing part is the most fun - so I'll be looking forward to that once I've got that shortlist down :-)
Great pictures. I miss the old valley, I used to walk it a lot, but yes, the flooding could be a problem. As for how to edit your project, I would start by making lots of small prints of all of the possibilities and then start making sequences out of them. For me that's always a good way to quickly work out what doesn't fit in the whole.
Thanks Ian - it's got it's own unique beauty hasn't it. Yep, small prints are definitely the way forward for finding a narrative and sequencing. It's interesting to know how other people approach their projects...we all find our own way in the end :-)
Thank you Ralph - it's interesting to hear about which images stand out for different people. I'm drawn to trees and the lone tree in particular is one I find myself photographing each time I'm there.
A really enjoyable post Lin and some beautiful images. I love the softness of the black and white and particularly like the second to last image.
Regarding projects I have had the same dilemma with the 3 large projects I have produced as books. I found with all of them that once I had worked out my story and what I wanted to say the sequencing and layout came more naturally. For me this was key. For example with my Rooted book about an ancient oak wood I was initially going to split the project into seasons, but then I thought more about the story I was trying to tell and ended up dividing the book into the following sections; time, nature, spirit, change, conflict, mortality and hope. This gave me a framework for my story which I felt was more interesting than a straight forward seasonal narrative.
Sequencing is the hard part, but it is fun. I usually get a rough idea by playing around with my images in the survey mode in Lightroom, then I print out my shortlist and physically arrange them on a table. I find this a much easier way of doing things as the images are easy to move around.
Good luck with your project, I hope we get to see the results. 🙂
Thank you for your generous comment Gill, I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and yes, when this project is finally completed it will certainly be shared here. That second to last image is one of ‘those’ trees that keeps calling me back to photograph it…I’ve been following it through the seasons so I’m sure it will appear again in a different guise in future!
Your experience with projects is very confirming for me – I’ve been leaning towards deciding on the narrative first, particularly when I’ve already got such a large number of images in my long shortlist to choose from! Seasons is a bit of an easy solution and is one that has been used many times for photobooks, so I think it will be worthwhile spending a good deal of time thinking about what story I want to tell and going from there.
I agree with the sequencing – I had to do this for my ‘Between Land and Sea’ project and it was made so much easier to just print 6x4’s and keep moving them around. At one point my office wall was a mass of blue-tacked images that I’d leave for days so I could sit with them and decide the order! Great for the project – not so good for the marks on the walls! 😊
So lovely, Lin - the images look ghostly, ethereal. Your historical references made me think of the mists of time; being in the past, present and future all in one spot.
Thank you Lynn - yes, that's a great way of thinking of it...the mists of time. There is so much history beneath the surface there.
Thank you so much for this post. I love reading you! Your posts are so beautifully written, and I feel immersed in the places you describe.
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback Anne - I'm so pleased that you enjoy reading my posts and they transport you to the places I visit. Substack is a wonderful place for sharing our journeys.
These photos are stunning!! I love the tonal quality.
Thanks Juliette - I'm pleased you like them! 😊
What beautifully written text, and those photos are incredible. It's easier to take photos on a moody, foggy day like this, but your compositions are simply on another level (geometry, leading lines, etc...), which sets your monochrome photography apart from the rest.
Wow...thank you for your kind comments Ari. I've only been sharing my work here for a short time, but the incredible writers in this space have been such an inspiration. I hope that is starting to shine through in my own writing!
Your photographs are amazing, Lin! Projects like these are challenging but also very rewarding (and fun). Take your time, don‘t rush it. It helps to write down, what the idea and concept (the red thread) of the project is. At least roughly. It definitely helps you selecting the photographs. Small prints you can hold in your hands, move around on the table (or floor) works best for me. This way I get a better feeling which photos want to be together (they will tell you) and which don‘t work at all. The sequencing takes usually the longest. Once I think, I am happy with the sequence I leave it laying out for days (weeks) and come back to it again and again.
And if you feel like this project is too big to start with - start with a small one. A simple zine from a winter walk or else with only a few photos. The insights you gain are very helpful. I am not a professional in any sense, but if you have a question feel free to reach out! All the best for your project.
Thank you so much Susanne for your kind offer, feedback and advice...everything you say makes sense and is very helpful. I have started to write about this as ideas and thoughts about the project come to mind - and mind mapping which I find helps as I'm a visual person. Using 6x4 prints for selection and sequencing and building the narrative is the way forward once I've prepared the images. Your idea on smaller projects makes sense and this could end up as several small projects bound together which could make it easier.
The Valley is something I've been documenting for nine years and there's a lot of images to get through but I have set myself the target of completing it this year and it will certainly keep me busy with all that extra time I'll have very soon!😊
Lin, what an exciting project for your beautiful images! I’m looking forward to hearing more about how it progresses.
For me personally, when approaching creative projects, I like to iterate and let ideas evolve and solidify as I go. For example, I start by roughing out or mocking up different ideas with limited details at first to get a feel for each one. Then, I take the ideas I like best a step further, refining them and adding more details until I reach a final design. This approach lets me explore various concepts fairly quickly in the early stages because I don’t invest too much time into lower-fidelity mockups before moving forward with the ideas I prefer. I also find that when working this way, my ideas about the project can evolve beyond my original preconceived notions of what it should be.
Good luck with the project, regardless of how you choose to proceed!
Thank you Todd for your kind comment and input. Your approach makes sense - trying out different ideas roughly to see which works. I was mind-mapping various 'ideas' yesterday afternoon to do just this - I find that helps to spark ideas as well. I'll post more images and thoughts here as I make progress.
Thank you for this, Lin. Your photos are wonderful (good call on the black and white approach) and your words help me understand and see a part of the world I have not been lucky enough to experience. The development vs. natural backstory is also interesting. Same everywhere, with different results, I think.
Thank you Tom - b&w does add to the ethereal effect of fog, I'm glad they've taken you on a journey here. I like to be pretty open about my thought process and it's great to get feedback which has proved to be confirming about the next steps for me on this project.
Printing small images and then do different types of sequencing often brings you unexpected narratives. Enjoy the process.
Thank you Marcel - that's an interesting approach and I can see how it may bring up new ideas I hadn't considered.
Beautiful writing! I especially enjoyed your journal entry. And, what can I say, the images are stunning!!! I love them in black and white.
As far as sequencing, I agree with the comment above about making small prints and laying them out differently. That and writing about the project helps me a lot to eventually find a natural flow. Of course, picking the strongest images first is always good. Being very strict with about that decreases the amount down. Kind of like decluttering. :) You then slowly add images back in…
Thank you so much Manuela - yes I think the black and white works so well, especially with fog.
It's interesting you mention writing about the project - I've been keeping a journal of many of my visits and thoughts on what I want the project to be, it is very helpful and a reminder of my wanderings there. I think the sequencing part is the most fun - so I'll be looking forward to that once I've got that shortlist down :-)
Great pictures. I miss the old valley, I used to walk it a lot, but yes, the flooding could be a problem. As for how to edit your project, I would start by making lots of small prints of all of the possibilities and then start making sequences out of them. For me that's always a good way to quickly work out what doesn't fit in the whole.
Thanks Ian - it's got it's own unique beauty hasn't it. Yep, small prints are definitely the way forward for finding a narrative and sequencing. It's interesting to know how other people approach their projects...we all find our own way in the end :-)
The first photograph is so beautiful Lin. Ethereal.
Thank you Shital - it was an amazing experience to feel the stillness of that moment.
Lovely stuff, Lin, both words and images. 3 and 5 stand out particularly for me. Beautiful.
Thank you Ralph - it's interesting to hear about which images stand out for different people. I'm drawn to trees and the lone tree in particular is one I find myself photographing each time I'm there.
the first and the last images are a stunner!
Thank you...their my favourites in this set too :-)
A really enjoyable post Lin and some beautiful images. I love the softness of the black and white and particularly like the second to last image.
Regarding projects I have had the same dilemma with the 3 large projects I have produced as books. I found with all of them that once I had worked out my story and what I wanted to say the sequencing and layout came more naturally. For me this was key. For example with my Rooted book about an ancient oak wood I was initially going to split the project into seasons, but then I thought more about the story I was trying to tell and ended up dividing the book into the following sections; time, nature, spirit, change, conflict, mortality and hope. This gave me a framework for my story which I felt was more interesting than a straight forward seasonal narrative.
Sequencing is the hard part, but it is fun. I usually get a rough idea by playing around with my images in the survey mode in Lightroom, then I print out my shortlist and physically arrange them on a table. I find this a much easier way of doing things as the images are easy to move around.
Good luck with your project, I hope we get to see the results. 🙂
Thank you for your generous comment Gill, I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and yes, when this project is finally completed it will certainly be shared here. That second to last image is one of ‘those’ trees that keeps calling me back to photograph it…I’ve been following it through the seasons so I’m sure it will appear again in a different guise in future!
Your experience with projects is very confirming for me – I’ve been leaning towards deciding on the narrative first, particularly when I’ve already got such a large number of images in my long shortlist to choose from! Seasons is a bit of an easy solution and is one that has been used many times for photobooks, so I think it will be worthwhile spending a good deal of time thinking about what story I want to tell and going from there.
I agree with the sequencing – I had to do this for my ‘Between Land and Sea’ project and it was made so much easier to just print 6x4’s and keep moving them around. At one point my office wall was a mass of blue-tacked images that I’d leave for days so I could sit with them and decide the order! Great for the project – not so good for the marks on the walls! 😊