We’ve all been there, planning locations, working out the fastest route to reach our composition only to be met with conditions that fail to reach our high expectations. The problem with expectations in landscape photography is that they usually depend on weather conditions and no matter how good those conditions may be we always wish they were slightly better. What would happen to our photography then if we rid ourselves of expectation and started to work with whatever the conditions were doing on the day?
I’m a great believer in working with the available light and trying not to get too hung up on composition, in fact most of my favourite images have come to me as consequence of the lighting conditions and not the structure or beauty of the landscape itself. I’m a bit of a saddo when it comes to light and can be found studying the way it interacts with the most mundane of objects around the house or at work, my wife thinks i’m weird but light can make even her sausage and mash look appealing. Ever looked at a tree being illuminated by a burst of light against a dark brooding sky or the shadows of a hillside? Or the light catching the back of a huge wave revealing the detail, textures and the shades of aqua and green that were grey’s and blues before the light revealed it’s true beauty. Whilst the landscape itself is pretty in it’s own right it’s only with light that it becomes magnificent, a thing to behold, something to get excited about.
So how do we incorporate this into our photography and the landscape? I think practice and time are probably the key ingredients along with a willingness to be curious to anything that may catch our eye. Repeated visits to the same location can help us to learn the lay of the land but most importantly the way the light interacts with it. There’s a pleasing image to be made regardless of the conditions, we really just need to be open to seeing it.
I received some great news last year from the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition, an email confirming that my image The Last to Fall received a commended, a place in the book and will be touring the UK in the exhibition. It was taken on a brief walk on Christmas morning whilst the turkey cooked and was very much an image that worked with the available reflected light from the above blue sky and the warmth of the rising sun.
I suppose I work a bit backwards to the traditional form of landscape photography where composition comes before anything, I would always put light and weather conditions first and then build my composition around my knowledge of the location and areas that will work with the light that’s available. I’ve discovered since spending most of my time with trees in the darkness of the woods that light really is the most important factor, it’s often the first thing to catch my eye, I can then look for a composition to work with it based around balance, structure, patterns, flow, space, character, colours and textures.
If I could suggest any advice to my fellow photographers it would be to lose the expectations and enjoy the light that’s on offer. It’s not going to lead to portfolio images every time we venture out but no journey is ever wasted, every step brings new opportunity to learn and discover.
Cheers for reading.
Marc
