Ripening barley
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It’s pretty much a truism when it comes to prose, the fewer words the better. This is a hard lesson for most writers to learn: how much to leave in; what to cut. Of course timing is involved too, not only scene setting. To build suspense, a sense of drama, irony, mystery, you can’t rush things. But then too much detail and description can bog things down, or worse, bore.
For most of us, honing the craft of captivating verbal particularity, the sort of writing that transports readers, heart-and-mind, right to the spot takes much practice and perseverance. And there may come a point when the attempt to conjure with words becomes too darned hard. Well, aren’t we humans, above all, moved by visual stimuli. Just think. If Word Press blogs were solely prose, how many of us would be here?
And so to images. These are all views from the field behind our house: the things that catch my eye: light and shadow; blocks of texture; earth colours. In this space, between our garden fence and Wenlock Edge, it’s usually the sky that creates all the drama.
The fence at the top of the field in winter
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Over the garden fence
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Summer grasses on the field path
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After the wheat harvest
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Winter hedge-top
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Midsummer sunset
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Lens-Artists: minimalism/maximalism Sofia at Photographias has set this week’s theme. Please pay her a visit.
Tish Farrell 
An absolute lesson on Less is More. Great photos: you don’t have to go far to find wonderful subjects if your eye is in gear!
Thank you, Margaret. As you can tell, I’m v. fond of on-my-own-doorstep kind of photography. Always something going on.
Exactly!
🙂
Stunning photos, my dear Tish!
Many thanks, Marina.
😘🤗
Tish, both your words and your photos are always captivating and today is no exception. I agree that mean people who come to WordPress, or elsewhere , probably prefer photos to words because they takes less time and energy. But I also wonder how many people actually take the time to look at and really see the photos that are shared. We’re so often in a hurry.
I agree that most of us perhaps don’t have time to really look at things – whether on-line or around us. For me, watching what goes on outside feels like eating something really nourishing. The world is such a marvellous place whatever the misery-mongering MSM would have us believe.
Beautiful photos. A picture is worth a thousand words🐼🦁🐸???
A joy to read and a pleasure to the eyes. I’m so glad you took on my challenge, thank you!
There is always something to see around us, if we take the time to look. Lovely photos Tish.
Thank you, Jude.
👏👏👏📷🌹beauty
🙂 🙂 🙂
I really like the textures in your sky photos. Lovely.
Thank you, Ali.
Tish – this is a feast for the eye, so beautiful. The opener is stunning, the barley and grasses as beautiful as ever. So well photographed all of them.
Many thanks, A-C. So happy you came on a visit to ‘my’ meadow.
Always happy to, Tish – just so much to do and so little time…But, that is life for all of us I guess.
your words like your meadow photos ” …transport(s) readers, heart-and-mind, right to the spot “
Lovely Laura. That’s such a cheering comment.
Really wonderful photos, Tish.
I heard someone say (I think it was the ‘young’ poet, Caroline Bird) recently that sometimes the image knows more than we do. But can there be anything more thrilling than words which, in a deep dive, capture everything that explains more than an image has the vocabulary to say?
Sarah
Ah, Sarah, now you have set me something to ponder on. I agree about the deep verbal dive into images that do not wholly speak for themselves. But I’m wondering now if this applies to photographs in quite the same way. My problem with words is they often seem too clunky and clumsy to convey certain things. And so yes, I love that notion that sometimes the image knows more than we do.
Gorgeous photos, Tish. I do try not to be a ‘wordy wizard’.
Good girl on the word count front, Sylvia. Your photos anyway always have much to say for themsleves 🙂
Thanks, Tish. 🙂
Great post for this challenge Tish! I especially like the last picture. So dramatic and beautiful.
Many thanks, Anne. We get some great skies over Wenlock Edge. Interesting atmospherics!
Superlative skies – especially your feature shot!
Many thanks 🙂
Beautiful, bucolic images this week Tish – what a lovely world you live in! I loved your comment about whether any of us would still be here if there were no images 😊. Lovely post from start to finish.
Your appreciative words brightened my afternoon, Tina. It’s a bit gloomy here today.
Wonderful minimalist images Tish! I especially like Ripening barley, Over the garden fence, Summer grasses and After the wheat harvest 🙂 And interesting thoughts about minimalism in prose too. While I favour it in my photography I’m afraid I’m pretty poor at keeping my texts as short as they might be 😆
Thanks for all those ‘likes’, Sarah. As to self-editing, it’s not easy to do, is it. For one thing it takes longer to write less!
These Sky photos are so amazing . I love all of these images. Thanks Tish .
Anita
Many thanks, Anita.
Great post and images.
Thanks a lot, Pete.
Terrific advice and very well put as always. Part of the knack is finding the right words too and here I loved your “honing the craft of captivating verbal particularity”. It’s sort of springy and reminiscent of Gerard Manley Hopkins. And then I think, ‘captivating’ – I’d never noticed how it somehow implies both capturing and liberating at the same time. A great word and perfectly set. Loved your captivating pictures too.
Thanks for that very, very nice comment, James. It’s good know when one has ‘hit the spot’. I learned a lot from Gerald Manley Hopkins, though putting what I did learn it into practice is another matter. I was only musing the other day about his use of compound nouns and adjectives, Saxon-style – as in windhover and dapple-dawn-drawn falcon. Very potent conjuring.
“the fewer the words the better” … pondering what is just enough … crafted, intentional, powerful; to sit alongside images. Like yours – so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your stunning vistas.
Thank you for all those kind words, Ju-Lyn.
How beautiful, Tish! Thank you for the tour. I love very single one image here. The last one is stunning!
Many thanks, Amy.
Your photos Tish are dramatic and electrifying. Thank you for sharing your work.
Many thanks, GC. Appreciate your kind words 🙂