Prepare to Fail!

We all know the old saying 

"Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail"

And for me , this has been a major fault of mine throughout my life.

Until photography came along I have never prepared (properly) for anything!

At school I would do the required classroom work, the minimum homework, and very little study or preparation.  And hence the reason I have always worked in jobs where brains may not be the first thing they look for on a C.V.

Remember from my previous post where I had No Ambition.  Well in my jobs I have always just settled at the level I'm at.

And in general I am still the same.  With photography being the only exception.

It makes all the difference...

Now in Landscape photography, preparation is probably more important than most of the gear in your bag! (in my eyes).

I used to think that it was as simple as getting up, grabbing your bag, and heading to a location and snapping away.  And to a certain extent, I guess it is.  But if you are wanting that special image that has your stamp on it. You may need to up your game.

For example, let's say you want a moody, atmospheric image of Glencoe.  

It's Saturday. You grab your bag, head out, and arrive in Glencoe. 

Good luck with that moody image you were wanting!....Why??

Well for starters you have arrived at midday! on a Saturday! in Glencoe!!

Good luck getting anywhere to park!

Its the middle of Summer (and for once), there is not a cloud in the sky!!

Now you are still going to get great photographs, but they are not likely to be what you were after.

There are so many weather apps and forecasts that would allow you to have (at least) an educated guess as to what the weather is supposed to be like at a certain location at a certain time.

Glencoe is heaven for photographers, walkers, hikers, wild campers. It's going to be packed! 

So knowing a bit about the location you are going to is also going to be of great help. 

Although with this example, its pretty packed all year round!

But no matter where your location is, it's always a good idea to do a little research before heading off.

If you are going for sunrise. Check where the sun rises in relation to your subject. Using apps like PhotoPills, you can pretty much tell the exact time and location that the sun should be coming up over the horizon. And remember if its Sunrise, arrive at your location at least an hour before the sun comes up.

You will not believe the colours that you can get before official sunrise.

The first time I discovered this to be the case was on a very early morning trip to St Monans harbour in 2018.  I left the house at 03.30 on Saturday morning, Sunrise wasn't until 06.42 and it was about a 2hr drive in the pitch black. When I was about 30 mins away (05.00) I could see a slither of deep red on the horizon. As I got closer that slither turned into the whole sky. It was a mad rush to park the car get the camera setup and take a photograph. 

At 05.35 (a full 1hr 7 minutes before official sunrise), this was the image I captured!

Over 1hr before Sunrise!!

And likewise, if it's a sunset shot you are after, make sure you hang on for at least 30 minutes after official sundown!

This shot was taken 40 minutes after Sunset!

40 Minutes after Sunset!

 

But hold on...

Now this is all very well and good. You check the weather forecast the night before, you have the sun aligned perfectly using your fancy app. You know exactly where you are going to place your tripod. Sorted, job done! Now just off to bed.

But as every photographer knows. Weather forecasts can be wrong! Apps can be very wrong 😂.

All of these tools are there for you to get a head start. Have a little bit of knowledge of the area you are going to visit.

One bank of cloud on the horizon can ruin a stunning colourful sunrise/sunset.

But if you have prepared and know a bit about your location, the conditions that you find when you get there might be even better than stunning colour! You might even get a moody, atmospheric Glencoe!

And these are conditions that everybody knows can change. 

But there are so many other reasons that can affect the way your photos turn out.

Traffic can cause you to miss that perfect sunrise.

You can plan weeks ahead, and then forget your memory card 😔.

Or you can just turn up and not be feeling it. Your work, family life can all have an effect on how or if you manage to get an image that day. Whatever it is, we have all been there!

It may not feel it at the time, but from my experience its always good to be out trying. I think you will learn more from your failures and mistakes, and if you are thinking about the settings on your camera, then you aren't concentrating (100%) on the problem that's blocking your creative side.

Don't get me wrong, I still look out the window 30 minutes before sunset and see some colour in the sky, and rush out the door. And usually find myself driving with no real direction just hoping rather than knowing I'm going to be capturing the perfect sunset. My success rate with this technique is about 1 in a 100!

My favourite images have came when I've arrived with time to spare. With time to soak in the scene in front of me. These are the times when I believe I have managed to capture more than just the scene I'm looking at. 

Emotion, atmosphere, depth are all ingredients I didn't think existed in landscape photography. But sometimes when all the elements come together and I am standing with no-one else there. Just me and the landscape. That's when my emotion is captured in the image too.  

So I would say to you, do your homework, prepare.

But just realise that you will probably need to.... 

Prepare to Fail