Small Details

Take the time to single out significant parts of the whole scene.

It’s very easy to only ‘see’ large-scale details, such as broad vistas, seascapes, mountains and general scenery but to add real depth to your image variety it’s worthwhile keeping a sharp lookout for small details too.

On a walk through a forest, for example, the inclination is to look for images that encompass all that lie before you – trees, rivers, waterfalls and so on. This complete scene is, of course, made up of many smaller sights, and it is easy to pass by strong but smaller-scale images – the opposite of the old adage ‘you can’t see the wood for the trees’.

A photographic exploration is not just about a single image that includes only what is immediately in front of you – it is also about capturing a sense of what it was like to actually be there. As you walk along you are aware of what is around you in a general sense, but what you are really doing is picking out details and assembling them into a complete visual memory which collectively sum up the overall experience of a place.

Be sensitive to these fine details, textures, colours and shapes. Take the time to single out significant parts of a whole scene and incorporate them into a collection of images that, seen together, say more about a place than one image ever can. Once you open your mind to this way of thinking, it is amazing what little gems can be made just by taking a closer look at passing objects and their juxtapositions.

This image, from Wilson’s Promontory in Victoria, shows a single fern frond against the red bark of a tree. Lilly Pilly Gully, where this was taken, is a delightful walk but lacks a ‘focal point’ along much of its way. By thinking small I was able to find an extremely simple, but still evocative image, which would otherwise be lost in the confusion of a wider, more expansive shot.