The story behind the picture "Broken path"

BROKEN PATH Focal length: 27 mm, Exposure: 0.8 Sec, F13, ISO 100 Focus stacked

The location

The image was taken in the forests around the southern part of Översjön located in the western part of Järvafältet nature reserve. It's a very easy access and something I stumbled upon when I was out to find scenes to photograph.

For more information about the location. Head over to Länstyrelsen Stockholm and its site about the nature reserve Västra Järvafältet.

(https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/stockholm/besoksmal/naturreservat/vastra-jarvafaltet.html).

The composition

The main motif in the composition is the fallen pine which forms a natural transition to the footpath behind. The idea was that the breakage of the tree and its splinters in the tree trunk would form a natural S-like curve and lead the viewer through the image. It looks like the walking path have broken and deteriated over time.

The image is also in principle divided into two separate main triangles where the right triangle is formed by the tree trunk while the left by nature behind the trunk. This is also eccentricized by the colors where the right triangle goes in more green tones while the left has more brownish earthy tone to it. The splinters in the wood also form a triangular shape with leading lines that points the viewer in to the image.

The image could maybe have bennefitted from a more misty condition that would have enhanced the mystery of the picture and more “where does the path lead” type of feeling. The atmosphere thats present in the back of the image now is basically created in post through the use of dehaze feature in lightroom. Its subtle but it ads a bit of mystery to the image.

The capturing

The image consists of several images taken with different focus points which have then been merged into a sharp image from foreground to background. The focal length that I used was 27 mm, which aims to eccentricize and enlarge the foreground and at the same time extend the perspective and reduce the size of the objects in the background. This gives an elongating effect where the lens helps to guide the viewer into the image.