After the Ritual
Another in my politicized/acculturated landscapes series – a new subset from local walks in the bleakness of autumn/winter farmland, with neither snow nor frost, but mostly fog and mud, for company.
Local fields seem to have been taken over by maize in recent times, a crop which feels rather alien to Oxfordshire and brings to my mind, for whatever reason, horror in popular culture; what is left behind after harvest certainly feels rather more desolate than the usual stubble. Coupled with extreme grain and small format via 135 Delta 3200, the ritual aspect of farming as process seems to take on a much bleaker, far more forboding connotation, helpfully added by ‘Ritual’ being the title of the original novel upon which the Wicker Man was based. Photography as both recording of time and interpretation of space always seems to convey some inbuilt sense of belatedness at odds with the immediacy of its visual appeal.
Leica M3 / 50mm f/2 dual-range summicron
Ilford Delta 3200 @1600 / 6400
Caffenol C-L/S (80 / 120mins semi-stand)
Enjoy! (But not too much 😉
DWFNaturePhoto 