Breathe

Sunrise is still an interesting time of day to me, especially during blue hour. The fun of walking onto a different scene, different moods, different light. It’s another challenge, something I can latch onto and work within. I stalked back and forth along a ridge line looking for the best place to get my composition. Not an easy mission when it’s dark, but as blue hour wore on I began to see clearly what the shot was going to be. At last, tripod setup, lenses exchanged, a series of photos shot the mountains exhaled and the entire scene was covered in thick unrelenting fog. Sunrise, challenges never cease.

As photographers we have to learn to adapt, and while I enjoy this image, its not the one I want, I will return to this location on another morning, and hope to get the illumination down in the valley. Until then, I have time to reflect on the morning. When choosing a scene, remember to take your time, I spent half an hour wandering a hundred yard stretch along this ridge where the trees were thin enough to get the view. I finally setup right on the edge between two firs and began trying different focal lengths, getting the height of my camera and angle as correct as I could.

Landscape photography presents many challenges, you just have to accept the world is ever present. Yes, you could try and remove those obstructions from your view, or even crush a flower under foot to prevent anyone else from getting your composition. That’s not the attitude we should bring to the table as photographers, our goal should be to document, and leave as little trace we had been there as possible. Learning to shoot when the situation isn’t ideal is and important skill, and preserving the environment in the mean time creates more opportunities in the long run.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 640
SS: 1 sec
Focal: 31mm

Fujinon 16-55mm