We’re photographing the light. Period. This recent trip through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula over to Minnesota continues to send a few chills. Why? Try shooting in 30 below zero temps! I still feel the chill that multiplied many times over!
Seriously, the images offer a little something extra this trip. An ah-ha moment. We all experience these from time to time.
What is different? My relationship with light. Yes, it’s in our photographer’s DNA that images are about the light. We all know it, and we apply light daily in our work.
During my trip, the light was the constant, the compositional guide and the influencer in all of my work. The phrases “look at that light”, “oh the color of the light”, “there’s a special light right now,” were repeating conversations in my head.
I am forever chasing light. Light turns the ordinary into the magical.
Trent Parke
Even though I chase the light, there are moments when we let our expectations go, that the light chases us in return.
Photographing the Light Intentionally
Something happens when we’re more intentional about the light versus the subject. I see it in my favorite images from the moment they pop up for post processing in Lightroom.
From a customer perspective in my Etsy shop I see repeat purchases of those where the light at the time was special.
There’s a Mental, Creative Checklist
Our eyes are naturally drawn to our subjects and the light. However, when we see the light, do we tap in to our mental checklist to think through the moment?
Where is light falling? What is the color? How can we harness it to create mood? How do I use light to share feeling? What about those shadows, how do they enhance or detract?
The other side of light? Dark. How we use light conveys the darks, the shadows. Even in the depths of night, it’s the light of the dark that tells our story.
Maybe the cold temps forced efficiency in my eye. Or, potentially, it was simply another step in my photography journey.
The difference on the other side of those frigid temps? My eyes are guided by the light first, the subject second.
For additional reading: Following Your Heart in Your Art
