We landscape photographers obsess about light. We constantly fuss about weather, clouds, conditions, fog, and anything and everything that is happening out in the elements.
At any given moment when abnormal light is happening, I may try to abandon ship (my real-life obligations), grab my camera, and drive or run to the light to figure out what's going on and capture it.
In my experience, light conditions is only the first of seven elements that must come together to create a compelling photograph.
A perfect landscape picture scenario entails all of these, right at this very moment:
1. Dramatic light we need to see to believe.
2. A captivating moment we want to witness.
3. A curious place where we want to be.
The stage is set. Now it's time for the artistic point of view to be just right so it requires:
4. A compelling composition. This is simply how a photographer frames the shot through the lens.
5. The selected lens and focal length must be optimal to fully capture the intended subject matter.
If luck is in favor, and these things happen, there's an important final step for a photographer:
6. The digital image captured in the picture must be post-processed (the digital darkroom) to turn the data of 1s and 0s into something worth savoring.
The truth of the matter is, in my eyes, all six steps successfully occurred less than a couple dozen times.
(I've been doing this for ten years.)
That's two a year if I'm lucky.
It's kind of crazy to think about.
The reality of being able to obtain all of these elements together, simultaneously, is that "real life" makes it almost impossible. Unless I were to roam endlessly in a tent and pause only to eat and sleep, most times, I cannot get into the perfect place at the perfect time.
It's a little unsettling to think about all the times I "almost" got there. The feeling is initally of defeat, yet if my mind is in the right place, morphs into a hopeful outlook for next time. It's what keeps me from giving up.
Over time, I've learned that if I execute at least three out of the six elements correctly, it might turn into something worth keeping.
In the end, the seventh element is the "X" factor that can make the other six meaningless.
7. A successful image only lives in the eyes of the beholder. This is you, and your opinion is what matters most.
Here are some captivating moments that produced some dramatic light in a curious place, and hopefully my camera and my eyes did them justice. Question is if someone like you might feel the same...
I was terribly groggy and the clouds covered the sky. It was blah. Then I sat there patiently until it happened. Here's the story about VOW.
It was bizarre how this moment came to be.
I was lucky on this one. I drove quickly and found a perfect spot only to have something even more spectacular happen.
What made this one special to me is that it is genuine and I really did find this scene waiting for me, shell and all.
I still have yet to determine the tiny mathematical chance of this happening.
