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Finding and planning photographic locations takes time (sometimes multiple visits) and physical effort but the rewards often yield some amazing photographs! The physical effort however doesn’t seem like a chore when I’m engulfed in my passions (early morning starts, cycling, hiking and photography); it’s then that I’m in my “happy place”! What could possibly be more fun than searching for spectacular locations, and then later have a prize photograph to go along with the memory! That said however, both weather and lighting play such a big roll and sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate but oftentimes I end up with the most amazing unexpected shots! This photograph has such a story. I had been searching for quite some time for a desert scene that wasn’t cluttered with desert debris (the overgrown desert and the fuzzy bushes (as I call them!). The overgrown vegetation often fills the entire foreground scene which stops the viewer’s eye from traveling through the photograph. That said, I was thrilled to find this location with its uncluttered foreground and strong composition. Notice the diamond shape of the predominant shadow and how your eyes follow its lines to the cholla and ocotillo. Then the ocotillo leads your eye up and back over to the top of the rocks; creating a circular path for your eyes to travel. The other thing I like is the combination of darks and lights. The shadows and highlights (which is often referred to as the darkest darks and the brightest whites) are complimentary in any photograph or painting. I found this location on an early morning bike ride at Brown’s Desert Ranch (a hiking/biking area in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Scottsdale) but unfortunately the best light was long gone so I made a mental note to return. That said, checking the next day’s weather forecast is always a big part in planning my photography shoots and although (on this day) it was more overcast than I had expected the sun did poke through occasionally; just enough to get this shot!
Each time I take a photo I consider it’s composition, which simply put is the arrangement of the elements in the viewfinder. Unlike a fine art painter, a photographer doesn’t have the luxury of moving that tree, or that mountain so considering all compositional aspects before I press the shutter button, is extremely important. There are many compositional grids and guidelines but generally speaking most use “the rule of thirds”. In this photograph however, I used a diagonal grid guideline and it’s actually that pattern that drew me to this scene! Take a moment to notice the many triangles in this photo (including the trees). Then notice too how I placed the two prominent trees in dead center, and how many of the triangular lines lead your eyes to those trees. It’s not very often that such a unique composition will present itself; Mother Nature did a great job composing this shot for me…. all it took was noticing it. :-) “Beauty can be seen in all things. Seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph”.
