VIllage Wood

"What the human eye sees is an illusion of what is real. The black and white image transforms illusions into another reality." Ruth Bernhard, American Photographer. 

Everything around us exists for only as long as we acknowledge it in some way; once we've passed by, or seen by someone else, the image changes. This is what makes photography so fascinating for me.

I captured this moment while on a walk around the village of Orquevaux. It was at the back of a small farm on a road out of town. Any of the other days I found myself walking by, the scene was predictably different.

It's said that B&W photographs can evoke an emotion or a mood. For me, in general, they leave me feeling comforted, as if the world contained within the photo is one without distraction and disruption, one of a simpler time and place. There's clarity to be found in a B&W photo.

This one speaks to a balance, not just horizontally but vertically as well. And this adds to the sense of comfort.

Would this photo be seen in color it would no doubt be beautiful. This version, in black and white, with its shadows and highlights in shades of grey, stops my gaze; it allows me to return to Orquevaux for just a moment. I feel the chill air, and the breeze. I hear the birds and the wind meandering in and out of the bare branches. There are no cars, no voices. Only me and the wood.