Photography | Reacting To The Light - Photography Untethered

Reacting To The Light:

We all know the scenario. We’ve done a recce of where we want to shoot. We’ve assessed where the light should fall and carefully selected the composition. All that is now left is to wait for the right conditions and head out to the intended location and Bob’s your uncle.

The question I would like to ask is once that delicate moment of anticipation arrives, where it’s now or never to get that shot you’ve planned so meticulously. Would you be prepared to move from that position in reaction to the light?

It could be just a movement of the camera (if your lucky) or the whole tripod thing. That means an expeditious redeployment of camera and tripod, and a rapid re-evaluation of the whole composition.

After all the prework that’s got you to this point are you prepared to react to the light?

Storm Brewing:

Now the shot above is an example of just that event, everything was planned to a tee. Nevertheless, the thing you can’t control is the light, especially in the case of the shot above where there was a storm brewing.

My planned foreground had not lit up as expected and was looking rather dull. The sea was too far out to make the focal point more interesting. The scene I visualised just wasn’t coming together at all.

As I waited the clouds became darker and darker as did the foreground. Spectacular light, however, was breaking through the dark clouds to the left and outside the main pre-arranged composition that I was fixated on. I knew that nothing was going to come by staying put.

It was time to make a decision!

Now, this may sound sad to a non-photographer. Nevertheless, deciding to move at such a critical moment, carries the same psychological stress as the anticipation of jumping from an aircraft or bidding in the last few seconds on ebay!

I make this bold statement only with prior knowledge of having experienced all three, obviously not at the same time, but with the way the world is progressing this could happen in the future.

Nevertheless, the sweat of induced adrenaline was worthwhile to capture some dramatic light. See below:

Light is the Heart of Photography:

In my opinion, it is an obvious choice to move location in reaction to the light. Light is the heart of Photography. Even if we’re talking having only a few minutes or less to get set up. Good light will always make the image. Maybe that’s subjective, however, as I’ve found not everybody feels the same way.

An old friend of mine who shall remain anonymous for the purpose of this blog, told me in no uncertain terms that once the tripod was set, it was set. Come hell or high water, well maybe not high water if it’s a coastal shot, but regardless of how the light changed the composition was the composition.

There was no flexibility in his plan to react to the light and allow for a quick change of position. The tripod for all intents and purposes might as well have been set in cement. It would not be moving. To be fair the guy who told me this is stark raving bonkers, scary as hell, and a walking encyclopedia of photography, so maybe he’s just a one-off.

But it got me thinking; how many others feel the same?

Chaotic Composition:

The image below is another example of reacting to the light. I had spent some time setting up a composition and then waited another hour for the sun to start its descent. As I waited for a red glow less water flowed onto the foreground rocks. I had also not anticipated the effect of the shadows on the rocks.

The whole scene had altered. As the shadows increased the composition gradually became more chaotic, whilst to the rear a beautiful sunset took shape.

It was now or never. I had to make my move or all would be lost. And so I picked up the tripod and camera and made my way to an alluring rock formation I had noticed whilst scouting for the first composition. I had seconds before the sun would set and the scene lost. Maybe this is where experience comes in?

With the camera already mounted on the tripod and spirit level in place, the photographer’s eye came into its own. There was no time for several minor adjustments I had to narrow it down to one or two. And so the scene was set and the above captured.

Ideally, I would have preferred the sea to have funnelled closer to the foreground – that, however, was beyond my control. Nonetheless, had I not made that move and reacted to the light – this beautiful once in a lifetime scene; would never have been captured.

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Fragmented Memory 🙂