Cree and I shoot every week. Sometimes we are on workshops, sometimes we are shooting assignments, and other times we just love to grab our cameras and go find something to photograph…no agenda! Photography is supposed to be fun, all you need to do is grab your camera and see what is out there to photograph.
But I have noticed through the years one thing that prevents photographers from going out to shoot….are other photographers. You know how the scenario goes…you run into another photographer or read online about how bad conditions are, or there are no cubs at bear locations, or they drained the reflection lake….so you better not go, it will be terrible. I’m all about getting advice about conditions from others, often this advice is well intentioned, but I just don’t worry about ‘bad condition’ reports. Instead, I accept the photo challenge!
If I listened to all that white noise I would never leave the house! Here is a universal truth about photography….there is always a great picture to be made no matter what the conditions…you just have to find it. When you are shooting assignments you don’t call up the editor and say conditions are bad, no photos here. Editors and art directors expect you to create magic, that is why they hired you. Don’t be discouraged or put off if conditions aren’t what you imagined. Truth be told, some of my best images were made when I had people telling me how horrible conditions are.
A few years back we were getting ready to take a group to Lake Clark to photograph bears. But online photographers were commenting that there were no cubs, and that it was a ‘bad year’. Honestly, any bear is a good bear year for me, I can’t get enough bear photography! We arrived with our group and there were plenty of bears, just not as many cubs as in years past. We photographed lots of interesting behavior and interactions. But one morning we had a perfect, clear sunrise. And we found a bear roaming across the tidal flats silhouetted against orange reflections, a stunning moment. I took the photo, and it is one of my favorite bear images I have ever taken.
Bosque Del Apache is famous for its sandhill cranes and snow geese. Birds by the thousands migrate through the flooded ponds along the Rio Grande river. But one year the famous ‘crane ponds’ were drained, and no birds were landing there. Reports from Bosque said don’t come this year, there are no birds, the crane ponds are dry…it is a waste of time. We had a workshop scheduled, so we arrived and found the crane ponds completely dry with no birds. As we scouted the refuge, we found fish and game had flooded a new area right along the road, and even better, cranes had packed the pond. That night we took our group there, and we had one of the most amazing sunsets I have seen. The pond was loaded with cranes, more birds were flying in, and the sky and reflected colors were over the top.
One year we were getting ready to take a group from Bosque Del Apache down to the White Sands NP. Other photographers were telling us ‘just don’t go’. There was restricted access, and supposedly tracks everywhere in the sand. When we arrived much of what was said was true. Our favorite parking lot was temporarily closed, and the dunes had tons of tracks. Our first morning we parked in the main area, and decided to walk down the road about 1/4 mile, and then walk up into the dunes. About 100 feet off the road the tracks were mostly gone, and about 1/2 mile off the road we encountered an incredible sublime scene. A pristine wind swept dune and the white gypsum sand were reflecting the incredible pink and blue civil twilight in the sky. It almost didn’t look real in the camera. The moment was perfect, and our entire group got the shot. This is one of my favorite images from this area, from a year that conditions were ‘horrible’.
Last fall we went to Ouray, Colorado to photograph fall aspens. We had heard the famous reflection pond (crystal lake) had been drained, and that colors weren’t great that year. We arrived to find that the lake was only about half full, but still had decent reflections. But Red Mountain Pass had the best color I had ever seen after 20 years photographing the area. And we found a magical aspen forest outside of town to photograph. A lone spruce tree was growing up through the thick aspens, everything was bathed in a beautiful yellow glow. Once again some of my favorite aspen photos were taken on a year that we heard was a ‘bad’ year in Ouray.
The take away here is don’t be discouraged by what others tell you about locations. They may be trying to help, but just know there is always photographs to be made. Just consider it a photo challenge, and find your amazing image…