One of the more popular images from my most recent trip to Richmond Park was this one, which I loved for the perspective of the shot and the textures of the wood. Because I was in a creative rut, when I found bridges in the Waterhouse Plantation that looked a bit like the one in the image I couldn’t help but attempt to recreate it and play about with the concept.
This image is not quite as simple as the original inspiration; I’m further back from this bridge than I was from the other, allowing more of the surrounding area into the frame. I also kept the image in colour to show off the hue of the plant life in the background. The distance from the subject and the polychrome nature of the image, however, have lost some of the texture in the woodwork of the bridge.
This is better in terms of texture, although some of the surrounding areas are possibly a little overexposed. The harsh sunlight was a bit of an issue, and my polarising filter (still stuck to my 18-135mm lens) wasn’t doing much to mitigate it.
Although this image looks like it has had its shadows boosted or some HDR-eqsue processing, there have been no adjustments to this image, save for some chromatic aberration correction. Here some of the texture is a little lost, but I like the fact that the bridge actually starts behind the viewpoint, so we cannot see the start of the bridge.
Now this is much better in terms of texture. I also love the bokeh of the background and the way the beam appears to bend as it moves further and further out of focus.
There was one other bridge that looked a bit like this one, although it was a bit smaller and hiding in a quieter section of the Plantation.
Of the images in this post this one looks the most like the original inspiration. As the bridge is in the shade the textures of the woodwork are more prominent although the background is still a little blown out.
All in all, as reassuring as it is to retread familiar images, I’m not sure any of the photos in this post are as good as the image that I had shot originally. That said, I’m notoriously bad at judging my own images, so what do you think?
On our final visit to the Waterhouse Plantation, we’ll be treading through some of the amazing scenery.
Creative Splurges 
I agree – the last photo is the best (although I’m a fan of the contrast in the second image). And the blown out parts I think actually add something to it, it gives you a sense of the sun and heat, and it also gives you a good range across all the tones.
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Very true, but I’m still not convinced any of these are as good as the original inspiration from Richmond Park.
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