Research - Theme One - Archie Miles

For my next research segment, I am going to research Nature photographer Archie Miles. Archie Miles is a photographer who mainly concentrates in the landscape and nature area of photography. After viewing some of his photography it has really inspired me to create some of these images of my own. He has a mixture of style. By this I mean he will take photographs of trees that are centered in the middle of the photograph and some will be of leaves or flower petals, alot like what I have done for my work. Below are ten photographs which I have found which inspired me to attempt his style of photography. All of these photographs can be found by clicking on this link http://www.archiemiles.co.uk/ and then clicking on the "trees" link.

This is the first photograph that I have chosen from Archie's collection. It is a photograph of an old oak tree at Windsor Great Park. As you can see it is a similar style to John Shaw's work. Here the tree is obviously the main focal point but to achieve this it had to be centered in the middle of the photograph. He is also stood quite close to the tree which makes it look very tall alongside the old branches spreading out across the whole of the photograph in different directions. I would almost say that rule of thirds is used here as well with the green grass being the bottom third, the tree being the middle third and the sky being the top third. Colour is also highly concentrated in this photograph especially in the sky as the blue gets a lot more darker towards the top of the photograph making the branches stand out even more.

This is the second photograph I have chosen from Archie's collection. This image has the same sort of style as the top photograph where it is centered but instead of having the whole of the oak included in the photograph he mainly focuses on the bark of the oak. Like I said this is still using the same sort of style but focuses more on detail from the main focal point. By this I mean you can see the patterns from the old oak because you are drawn to this rather than if it was taken further back using the whole of the tree for the photograph.

This is my attempt of this style of photograph. What I have done slightly differently here though is taken the photograph a little bit further back. This creates a larger span of pattern from the old branches from the main focal point, spanning out left to right of the top half of the photograph.

These next two photographs are a little bit different to the others. They both use the frames within frames composition but they are both a little stranger than normal photographs using this composition. The position of where the photographer was stood on the first one creates a different frames within frames composition as to if he was stood looking straight on between the trees. I would still say the main focal point would be the tree right in the centre of the photograph. The trees almost create a gateway to the main focal point standing dominantly in the centre of the photograph. The second photograph also includes the frames within frames composition. Again, it is a little different than normal, this time it is purely down to how strange the trees create the composition within itself due to them joining together. Colour is concentrated in this photograph as well mixed with natural sunlight. With a rear facing sun it creates a shadow effect from the tree barks.

This is the sort of tree photography I would like to attempt but unfortunetly it is not the right time of year to attempt it. These photographs both highly concentrate on colour mixed with natural light. With a mixture of strong natural light shining onto the very bright frost covered trees he has managed to create a great blend making them both bright, colourful and vibrant. The deep blue sky matches perfectly with the frost covered trees making them stand out very boldly. I would also say patterns have been used in both photographs from the branches of the trees spreading across the photographs.

Here is one of his photographs that uses the lines to guide to eye composition mixed with patterns from the trees both on the left and right. The trees on either side lead deep into the photograph which create the lines to guide the eye compostion. Natural light is also used here but a little bit darker than normal which suggests that this photograph was taken in the evening just as the sun is setting. I would say this creates a warm, natural coloured effect mixed with shadowing.

These two photographs both rely on the background to show all there natural beauty. Again, they are both centered in the photograph without any distractions or interruptions making them the main focal point in both photographs. The sky in the background attracts the trees making them look even more bolder than usual. This is great as they both stand out perfectly. Both concentrate on colour, more the top photograph than the second. The top photograph uses more natural light that is available making the greens on the stand out where as the second photograph uses less available light making the sky look a bit more whiter. This is perfect though as the tree branches are a dark colour so they stand out beautifully.

This is the final photograph I have chosen from Archie's collection. This uses the same style as some of his other photographs I have chosen but this one was taken just as the sun was setting. Obviously the tree is the main focal point in the photograph with it being centered without any other objects interrupting the photograph. Although the sun was nearly set, all the natural light that was available has been used perfectly to create a silhouette which blends perfectly with a yellow sky from the remaining sunlight.

Archie has also created many different books to show his photography. These books range from all of his types of photography. The one pictured above shows his work on trees in Britain and Northern Ireland.