Photographic Magic by John Warden

The Bambi Lessons Photographic Magic by John Warden

Deer feeding in a field. An almost everyday occurrence and for years, I was left uninspired.

It’s always nice to see wildlife of course, but deer eating grass in a field can seem rather ordinary, not much drama. I wasn’t getting a feel for the spirit of the scene. Then I started my research into prospect and refuge theory and I remembered the lines from Disney’s 1942 animated classic, Bambi.

“You must never rush out to the meadow”, says Bambi’s mother. “There might be danger! Out there, we are unprotected, there are no trees or bushes to hide us, so we have to be very careful”.

Bambi, peering out to a sunlit field from the shadows of the forest’s edge was being introduced to what British geographer Jay Appleton called the experience of landscape. In the shadows of the forest, where we can see, but not be seen, there is refuge, shelter and safety. In the adjacent meadow, though, there is light and the prospect of lush vegetation – but perhaps danger. These competing and symbolic compositional elements, light and of dark / prospect and refuge create an emotional conflict: hide in the forest or thrive in the meadow.

Appleton’s book fired my inspiration: Reveal the prospects: the joy, the dance, the play and the fullness of the sunlit meadow. Explore the refuge: the intrigues of the shadows, the comfort of shelter and the security of the tree line. Unveil the high drama of the resulting tensions and threats.

Deer eating grass in a meadow. Ears prick up as they sense my approach. And in the pricking of an ear, my landscape compositions become a study of behavioral instincts and the potential drama of life and death conflicts.

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