I have been exploring the forest in many different ways... through art, through taking photos, by just being... and also playing with digital apps...
The reason for playing with the apps is to view the forest in a new way.
Will I notice something new?
Does it change anything?
Does it create another feeling, that might help me understand another level of the forest?
The above shows how I can create wallpaper/fabric style patterns from a photo, using the app Adobe Capture.
This is using the same app, but another feature.... in the actual app you can rotate and see the 3D shape from different angles. It really does reveal that there are areas of light and dark in the forest depending on the angle you are looking at. This applies to the patterns above too... depending on what section of the image that was selected for the pattern making really impacted how light or how dark the pattern turned out.
Light and dark has been something that I have been fascinated by... how the forest could feel darker in some areas than others, not only due to the density of the trees but also the type of trees - as the below image shows... the lighter birch trees really do make a difference to how the forest is perceived. So I can really understand how some forests feel threatening or scary, while others feel invigorating and inspiring. Of course personal relationships with the forest will also impact that.
(April 18th 2021, Norrby Forest. No filter. Cloudy day. 1°C, frequent snow flurries)
The above series shows the actual photo on the right (no filter April 17th 2021). The middle photo was taken in the same spot using the Olli app (you can choose a variety of art styles, even choosing brightness, detail and line weight etc) and the same view on the left using Slow Shutter app... which means the shutter stays open for longer... I used movement (very slowly) to create the blurring effect. This app is great fun in the dark with a light source. So next time I am out I will try some evening and night experiments. If you have a tripod it will allow you to of course get brighter images, but I could not keep my hands still in the freezing weather, and had the slowest shutter available - 30 seconds, so deliberate movement felt more satisfying than failing to keep still!
Adobe Capture app also allowed me to mess about with filters and colours... but these days many social media apps can allow you to create different effects in the forest too.
Does the feel of the forest change with colour? At the moment I have been discovering the forest in her winter colours, but I can feel the excitement within me as I see the start of the change... spring is starting to come slower to the forest than it is in urban Stockholm where the cherry blossoms are already in bloom. Here the understory is just starting to break out in a delicate shade of green... it fills me with positive energy, of possibility, of potential.
Of course to get magical effects and to see the forest in a new way apps are not always needed...
(Photos taken April 17th 2021. 5°C fluctuating sun and cloud)
Here I have scrubbed the bottom patterns of a paperweight so that I can capture the images of the forest rather than the paper pattern. It really does create magic. I discovered that the best effects came when it was sunny, the image became much clearer then. And that next time I will take a cloth wit me, as over time it collected thumb and finger prints that ended up reflecting and "ruining" the image. In a way the lines of my thumb prints sort of connected with te lines of the forest... pathways, leaf veins, branches, spider webs, roots... so maybe it didn't ruin the photo but allowed me to see another connection.
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