Into The Woods

SIMON BAXTER GOES DEEP TO CAPTURE HIS MOODY IMAGES OF NATURE

- Jack Neubart

WE CAN ALL APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY and mystery of a forest enshrouded by mist in the early dawn. But few of us manage to capture the haunting quality of the scene. Even fewer of us go out before dawn to capture that alluring, mystical light that shapes the forest and which the forest in turn shapes. We tend to look for the obvious, charging forward, impatiently forcing our vision upon the scene. Photographer Simon Baxter takes a decidedly different tack. He allows nature to reveal itself to him, one quietly evanescent moment at a time.

HOW BAXTER VISUALIZES HIS WOODLAND LIGHTING 

We, as photographers, are often taught to recognize the way light wraps itself around three-dimensional objects to give them form, to study the shadows these forms cast, and to exploit that relationship of light and shadow. Baxter sees that light and takes it even further. He comes upon the scene with careful deliberation, slowly-studying every nuanced texture and form and the light that envelops them.

As Baxter explains, he sees the scene as “a moment in time when the balance of light, color, and mood complement the physical elements in the scene. Mist and fog are often the key ingredients for capturing mood, adding mystery, creating soft light, decluttering the scene, and enhancing depth. A foggy woodland is incredibly atmospheric and creates an experience that can be peaceful or even creepy. Whatever the experience is, I very much enjoy having that story behind the image.”

He loves what he describes as “the softness of light you can get from a foggy woodland. The sun trying to break through mist offers amazing light.” Given a choice, he’d choose flat light over harsh sunlight.