Matthew Lock 8 B

An assessment by Mr. Geekie. ( learning to look and see rather than just look )

The focus is tricky here – could have been sharper however. Perhaps the tractor could have been two thirds across the page – an easily adjusted fix using cropping. Though this is often put forward because it reflects the golden mean – I always like to challenge this notion of balance and here I think Matthew has ended up with a good composition. The tractor should be red of course in a perfect world ( my nephew always used to like tractors as long as they were red ). The framing of the autumn red leaves is good, they actually wrap around the tractor which tricks the eye into looking at it. The suggestion of a dead spindly plant to the right lower corner encourages the viewer to appreciate the season is over and autumn is here. The plant is still laden with seed ready, like the farmer to sow for the following year. Is the tractor preparing the ground for winter crops? Or is it sowing seed. The light green field behind the tractor looks fresh as if it is indeed a new crop. The green hedge in the foreground helps to frame the brown earth between the green field behind the tractor. The sky is a winter pale blue. The sun is shining but the overall impression is of a crisp, sharp day. The absence of civilization except for a distant telegraph pole ( just visible power lines pass through the top ) and any other feature suggests wide open low lying fields – perhaps part of a large farm, which is probably arable rather than a livestock intensive operation. Just spotted the seagulls in the field. I wonder if the driver has some food, perhaps sandwiches and maybe a flask as he could be working this large field for some time. Looking deeper we can see red berries in the hedge – another autumn sign.