Thursday, February 17, 2005

On Assignment: Leiper's Fork, Tennessee-Day Trip


"The Dead Field" by Wes Aldridge

Ah, nothing like shooting landscapes and scenic shots in the dead of winter. It is usually a bust assignment if you need any kind of vegetation, other than a holly bush or pine tree, in your shots.

I was in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee, shooting today. It is a tiny town south of Nashville where life seems to slow to a crawl. I went into Puckett's Bi-Rite supermarket and had one of their "world famous burgers" as locals in overalls and John Deere hats joked and laughed at me while I did some food shots of my meal. It is a different world there. I feel something majestic in it, a wonderful place to visit.

This was a random field that I drove by. It was dead, and perfect for what I wanted. I think the vivid colors of the sky and fence make a tremendous contrast with the dead tree and rotten grass. The shot pretty much is void of any photographic rules, I don't like to consider those anyway. Everything inside me told me not to take this ugly shot, but I simply had to. It was a perfect scene. I couldn't have asked for much more vivid contrast. I think the extreme contrast of this scene is fitting to the contrast of Leiper's Fork. It isn't much of a town, all 2 miles of it, but something about the people there make it so alive.

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