My Favorite Image of 2009

Sometimes a favorite image just sneaks up on you.

At last year’s Mt. Rainier workshop when my small group and I left for Upper Tipsoo Lake to photograph the sunset, I had something very specific in mind. I was hoping for more clouds around Mt. Rainier. I also wanted amazing sunset colors with deep reds. And I wanted it all reflected in the lake too. I wasn’t asking for much, was I? Anyway, so much for preconceptions.

When the light I was counting on didn’t materialize, we went exploring, climbing above the lake to see what that might hold. But I wasn’t excited by what was going on in the sky; I was still stuck in my preconceptions (fantasies, actually…). However, I was there and the foreground light was looking nice so I gave it a try.
By now it’s just a matter of habit for me to get the best possible image in the camera, even if I’m not all that excited about the picture. As the sky here was so bright I knew I’d need to either take more than one exposure and blend them in the computer or use a graduated ND filter. Since at the time I was admittedly disappointed in the sunset I decided to “just” use a graduated filter.

What do you know, this image ended up being my favorite of 2009. There must be a lesson in there someplace about turning lemons into gift horses or ditching preconceptions or some such. What I can say is that I’m damn glad that I’m such a geek about image quality and getting good results in the camera.

And that’s part of what we try to teach at PAW. We strive to help you to get the best images you can. A big part of that is learning the technical aspects of photography. For this image I knew I needed a graduated neutral density filter and in less time than it would take to explain it, I determined which strength filter I needed, placed it in front of the lens, and took the shot. I’ve done this so many times that it is now second nature and requires very little thought. In other words, the technical process doesn’t get in the way of the creative process and that is something I really try to stress at my workshops.

We’ve all got stories about the one that got away, the picture that would have been great except for (insert your particular technical malady here). Work on mastering the technical aspects of your photography and you’ll have fewer of those stories to tell. At a PAW workshop we’ll help you with that.