When on Sunday morning the light is uninspiring and the temperatures less than inviting, what do you do? As a “normal” person you’d go back to bed and enjoy a long extra sleep into the new week.
As a photographer, it is slightly different. No long hours in bed, nope, you go out and find something to shoot. If it’s not close by, then you go further away until you get something shootable.
Many of us have been there, some are on their way—the race for excellency. Invariably, we compare ourselves to other photographers and try to imitate or improve on their pictures, leaving our own vision on the sideline.
Often we seek the approval of other photographers, even if we don’t know them personally. Social Media is THE way to go and present your pictures, get approval and show you are better than the competition.
Every year somewhere near the end of autumn or by the end of winter there comes a moment when photographers think there is nothing more to shoot. They start photographing water drops, smoke and other domestic subjects instead.
The question is: Why? Why is there “nothing more to shoot” in those periods of the year?
We have all heard of Winterfell at one point or another. That place is always cold and never warms up. Well, this is a bit like that, just without the “never” part.
Lately, we have had a spell of real cold, an Arctic Blast to cool us down to –28C, creating sea smoke and other phenomena.
The sky and the weather are two of those subjects that never end. Either they are with you or they are against you. In some countries, the weather is a constant source of discussion, in others, it is considered “bad taste” to talk about the weather as if there were nothing else to talk about.
Only if you have nothing else to say, do you start talking about the weather to keep the conversation going. Somewhat. For photographers, this is quite different.