The science of prediction

I attended an afternoon lecture by Future Lab on Tuesday, which was lead by an extremely enthusiastic speaker, who spoke in a convincing manner and told us exactly who we were, what we want in life, what our fears are and what the contents of our fridges reveal about us! (On average!) He did, however, also have a lot to say about how the consumer's tendancies are being addressed by the providers and what their motivation is, which whilst not being wholy Landscape specific, did give us some valuable insight into our roles for the future and how they are likely to be developing. It was also interesting to know that the predictions are an increase in the consumer wanting not just to experience what you are offering, but also who you are, so that there confidance is no longer based just on what they see, but also what they know of its background, and your motivations. People, apparently, want to put there trust in us! What a responsibility. That means it#s no longer about just making sure that someone isn't going to trip on your hardpaving, but also that when they trip, they're not going to land on imported sandstone hewn from rockfaces by Indian children, and discover that they were transported here in the boot of a guzzling old Transit. Instead they (the public) want to found their belief of correct attitude and decency in the DESIGNER, who created this wonderful thing and must therefore know what's best! FASCINATING!

Model Module

As the first half of this November's focus week, I have chosen to concentrate on something that I haven't attempted since first year and the advent of my learning photoshop: Model making.

The last time I made a model, I found it to be an extremely laborious task, and although the results were good, not worth the time taken should I ever be working to a schedule. However, this time round I was in for a pleasant surprise, as I found that much of the hard work can be cancelled out by purchasing ready made items, such as trees. Then combining this with photoshop skills, and some good photography (all round creative thinking), it's not too hard to get some outstanding results. So here is the first of a series of model/photoshop creations for my current project: Shrubs Wood Barrow, a Neolithic oval barrow in Kent AONB woodland.

Capturing The Light

I realised during a recent early morning drive to work, that each type of tree is unique. Not necessarily a great revelation in itself, but what I was particularly interested by was the unique manner in which each tree allowed light to fall through its boughs and the pattern and intensity with which it then caressed the surface beneath. I realised that this could be used to affect landscape and to bring certain lighting to the subject. This realisation helped me to appreciate one of the finer points of planting that I had not previously understood and one which has, it seems, often been overlooked by our profession.