Honor the Light

I am an avid photographer. 

Photography is my hobby, and it is something I absolutely love to do. My favorite subjects are wildlife and landscapes.

As I started this blog post I was sitting in an airport waiting for my flight back home after spending 3-1/2 days in Utah. We had only two days rather than the three we had planned to photograph some of Utah's beautiful wild mustangs. The herd we photographed was habituated to humans, so the horses -- some 150 wild horses -- didn't run away in fear. In fact, there were times when the horses were walking our way and we needed to move so we didn't get too close to them. 

The thing about photography is that light as much as anything else is so important. Without light, there is no photography. And light at different times of the day can make all the difference in a photo. 

One photographer I know uses the motto "it's all about the light." I have chosen the motto of "honor the light." Another photographer I know has as her motto "chasing the light." However the word is used, the most important element to any photographer is light. Is it warm? Is it bright and harsh? From which direction is the light coming? Is the subject backlit, front lit, or side lit? Is it creating harsh shadows?

Light, for most people, isn't something they think much about. It's either present or it isn't. We tend to think about light only if the room is too dark and we need to turn on a light. But for photographers, light is all important and it is something we as photographers of any level need to acknowledge and appreciate.

Light is the reason I and my fellow photographers get up before dark so we can be in position to capture the warm light of sunrise. And light is the reason we get in position before sunset to take advantage of the warmth of that light. Doing photography in the middle of the day doesn't work, because the light is too bright, too harsh, and it produces shadows. 

So aside from all the other benefits of sunlight - - allowing our crops to grow and lifting our spirits - - It is so essential to any kind of outdoor photography.