Searching for Lights with Ozzy & G
We spent some time location scouting for a new walk this morning, G, Ozzy, and I. I brought my camera with the intent to capture a variety of details and scenes. I find I’m most drawn to situations that look as though they had to have been planned but were not.
Here G unloads our cargo for the walk. Our dog has been so fantastic for us, as we never would have walked outside as much as we do because of him. He has always encouraged us to do more, go further, see new places.
This woodpile was the first piece to inspire what would become the subject of the walk, looking where the light touches. I was so intrigued by the way the sun gently came through the trees above and bathed this scene so perfectly. I knew I would see more.
These scenes were the opposite from the previous of the woodpile. We walked in the shade and I enjoyed the thought of the bright sun warming the water beyond the trees. I tried to capture the way the sun came through those trees and quickly faded as it lost reach. We walked in safety.
This soft scene was found in a shadow just out of the sun’s reach. You can see a few highlights on the reaching branch. It was cool here.
This is one of those scenes I first described that seems as though there had to have been a plan. As we walked through the woods, This tree stood at the end of the path illuminated so brightly by one single path of light through the trees behind us. Beyond the tree, there was so little light that it seemed to serve as a clean backdrop for the tree that sat center stage. It demanded to be acknowledged. I did as the tree demanded.
We reached a secluded area far enough from anyone we had previously seen that we let Ozzy go for a run on his own. We have worked very hard with him on his recall and we trust him fully in these situations. This photograph was made the moment G gave him his release word.
Another moment with the reaching sun. Look at the way the shadow from such a small plant travels across so much ground. I can’t get enough of that.
Pardon this terribly generic landscape. I really just needed to capture the spot to keep track of something I could return to at a better time of day. This was near the end of our walk and the sun had already gone too high for most decent photography.
Landscape photography has always been astonishingly difficult. There is so much more to it than one might initially think. Honestly, landscape photography can mean arriving at a scenic location, pointing the camera, and clicking. But to make a truly great landscape photograph requires so much more. Addressing the sun’s direction, the strength of light, the geometry of the Earth before you, the clouds in the sky, and even the time of year and the way this changes the leaves are just some things to consider. I have never made a great landscape, but I do enjoy the attempt. I’ll be back to this location and I will do better next time.