Wait for the Critical Moment

Great light, you have to wait for it with some skys

Great light, you have to wait for it with some skys...

The light you use makes or breaks the shot. This tree, sad and lopped in its old age, is a case in point. Look at the sky. There are some great greys and tonal variations in the sky – as you can see. At ground level, there would not normally be much in the way of a great prospect for good light considering this sky.

In the background, behind me, I saw an advancing break in the clouds. I took a few lacklustre shots to try out the feel of my capture. This practice gave me the feel for what I was doing. The light was hopeless. I could see some wonderful watery yellow light coming through the early morning clouds in the approaching break. So I waited and waited.

Eventually I was rewarded with a few seconds of excellent bright yellowy light to illuminate my chosen subject. Literally, a few seconds. Then it was gone. The rest of the morning was a grey, dull day.

Look at the world around you before you take your shot. Practice and try out the idea you have, but create a vision in your mind of what you are trying to achieve. Then, wait for the moment. In this case it was a burst of light. Another time it may be the position of someone or something. Or it could easily be an element of light. Be prepared to put the time in to get the shot.

Have fun, but make sure it counts…

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

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