This weekend I was at the Linn ranch for a prayer walk with some friends. The light was perfect and the hay had been freshly cut. There were clouds floating in and out from the rain earlier in the day. The rain had cleared the dust and I had my camera this time.
Awesome!
Sometimes things look so good that you can't focus (pun) on which amazing image to capture. So your head spins around taking snapshots (ugh!) of everything and end up home with nothing great. "But, it was so pretty! I didn't want to miss anything!" is the reply.
What I try to do in these rare instances is first, breathe. Then thank the Lord for his wonderful creation, my camera and that they are both in the same place at the same time. Then, I look at what makes it beautiful. Is it the tree or the fact it's sitting all alone on the hill? Is it the clouds or the way the sun is not shining on all of it the same way? Giving it a myriad of gray tones or different colors? Is it the blacksmith shop as a whole or the way the tools are still where they were left long ago? That glass in the window sill, is it out of place?
Usually I start taking test shots somewhere in this mental stretch. Not many, just enough to give me an idea what the reflections are doing and how the sensor is picking up the light. My eyes tend to adjust to the color of the light. Doing this sometimes solves that issue.
After a few shots I imagine what feeling I have looking at this scene. Is it happy or sad? Surreal or critical? How do I best portray this feeling? Vertical or horizontal? Up close or wide and sweeping? Personal or distant?
Now about this time, my friends are wondering where I am? Or, if they can see me, if I'm on drugs. They think I am smelling bark on the side of a tree. I know, I am looking at a weird fluorescent green bug on an oak. So, just to make them feel better, I run back to my cruiser and grab my tripod and or switch lenses. Grab a shutter release, run back before the light changes again and compose and capture the image. Hopefully, by now I have the image I want. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But, it's always fun. 8o)
