Smokey Dreams
The past few days had been hectic, so much my sleep schedule flipped to sleeping during the day [I’ve always been a night owl anyway]. As I prepared to lay down for a few hours I checked my e-mail, weather reports for the day [as a landscape photographer you get really used to checking the weather]. Foggy, the aviation weather maps show what looks to be good conditions for a thermal inversion. I knew that latter in the day would be raining and miserable. So, I grab my gear and get to the car, I’ve only got an hour before sunup, that’s fine, I can make it. I get up on the parkway, the inversion I had in mind isn’t happening, clouds were low meaning the upper elevations would have no visibility, and at the same time I see the sunrise starting, blue hour light painting the sky. No choice but to drop everything pull over, and try and get the shot. A morning well spent.
Weather is your friend, your enemy, you look to it for favors, sometimes it relents but most often you just have to make due. As landscape photographers we rely on the weather, watching the radar, cloud maps, but most importantly… just walking outside to see for ourselves. That’s the thing, you can rely on the gadgets all you want, but in most cases you’re just better off walking outside and seeing for yourself. Just because the forecast is rainy, miserable and useless doesn’t mean that’s what’s happening, that just means that’s what they think might happen. This issue is compounded massively in mountains like these. One ridge may be having a massive downpour, and the one next door? Patchy skies with moody light.
The most important lesson to take away is, get an idea of conditions, and then set out anyway. Take the chance and try and get a striking shot. While this image isn’t what I would call fantastic, it’s still something I enjoyed, and wanted to share [trust me, there’s so many I haven’t showcased!]. Go out, take a look around, and if you think the conditions are good enough… Take a chance and head out.
Until Next Time!
Aperture: f11
ISO: 640
SS: 1/30th
Focal: 23mm
Fujinon 16-55mm
