A Horse under a Tree

A Horse under a Tree, by Mike Jackobo.

A horse under a tree, on a high place above Amvrakikos gulf. This photo is one of those cases where you go for one thing and you end up doing another. I stated recently that this is part of the magic of photography. Nevertheless, it is always surprising, no matter how many times it may happen. So, what did I started to do and how did I end up with this photo?

Amvrakikos gulf has a lot of marshlands. Since I visit the area frequently, I have come to learn those places, where land and sea are one. I don’t have to look for them, they are everywhere. And it isn’t just marshlands. Watercourses can carve the land in interesting patterns, especially where they flow into the sea. Marshlands, watercourses and estuaries. That was my target that day. The location of the photo is where a dirt road begins and it leads to a marshland nearby. At the same time, it passes by an estuary, which creates a waterfall as it drops from the elevated land.

I wanted to see if one could drive down that dirt road. Result: only with an off road vehicle. What I expected to find was a guard dog, for some buildings around there. That made me postpone the visit there for a long time. Encounters with guard dogs are never pleasant experiences! Recently though, I couldn’t hear a dog barking, so I decided to check the place. Truly, there wasn’t a dog around and since it is a quiet place, I decided to stay and enjoy the view. The location is on a hill that cuts sharply to the sea.

At last, about the photo…

As I was looking for any photographic opportunities, I spotted the horse, tied on the tree. Out of nowhere I had a subject, now I needed a composition. The blue of the sea and the sky was the perfect background. One option I had, was to fill the frame with the horse. I had already done that in the past and it is done by other photographers all the time.

So, went with a different approach. Instead of concentrating on the animal, I decided to include the bigger picture in the photo. That bigger picture was the tree that the horse was tied on. That automatically made the photo a landscape image. The village in the background breaks the domination of the blue in the background. It also adds another layer in the composition, which is important in landscape photography. I made a few snaps, as the horse was moving around. This was the image I chose from this batch; a horse under a tree against nature’s blue.