Monday found me doing something that I never thought I would do, that I have quietly frowned on others who do it, yet after trying it I was converted and wondered why I hadn’t tried it sooner. Though as soon as I had finished I felt guilty and I’m only just starting to think of it something that is ok to do.
What am I talking about? I put an image into Lightroom that I had taken the day before and, (if you could just look over your shoulder to make sure no-one else is reading this); I played around with the colours and shadows. I did something that I never thought I would do; I manipulated a photo to give me a better image than I shot and I loved it! The results were amazing; it took an ordinary looking sky and reflection and made it look stunning.
Prior to work
I put the image on my Facebook page and waited. I waited for people to scream “Ruth you’ve altered this image” or “Ruth you’ve made a real mess of this” Or maybe even “Ruth you’ve cheated.
Did anyone say this? No quite the opposite I had many likes and many people commenting on how beautiful an image it was. No-one suggested or even hinted that it didn’t look lifelike. So that was one relief, I hadn’t made it stand out as a manipulated image. Salving my conscience though is another thing.
As I sat in the steam room last night I almost hoped that it would wash all the sins of the previous day. Yet as guilty as I felt for putting up an image without mentioning I’d done a little playing around with it, the stunning results lowering the feeling of guilt.
And for me, I think therein lies the problem. What if I get around to liking this so much that I start manipulating every image I shoot? I do think though it’s going to become a little like first joining Twitter or Facebook, initially it’s all fun and exciting and you can’t wait to log in and see who has messaged you or posted something, then when the novelty wears off you maybe check it once a day if at all.
After a little bit of work
My other shoot I have done this week I’ve tampered with the odd image though I discovered it didn’t make that much of a difference to the original. So I think it’s going to be a case of being selective with the images that I decide to play with. Phew, I think that I can come out of the steam room now!
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Living in the beautiful rural county of Yorkshire it was perhaps natural for Ruth to have an affinity with the countryside and its wildlife. Creativity is Ruth’s driving force finding an outlet in television & radio she worked for many years as producer for BBC & ITV.
However a love of photography and for being surrounded by nature called her to go back to her photography training and bring pleasure and joy to people through her connection with our planet.
Staying in the moment when taking her images allows her to experience the natural magnificence unfolding before her eyes. It is this moment of mediation, of gratitude, that she evocatively conveys through her images.