In a Good Light
I wanted to photograph the stray zinnias that made their way through the grasses and strawberry plants, far from the actual flower field. I love the evidence of seeds that have traveled by wind and taken root. But the light was harsh and the patch of soil left largely untended. Weeds everywhere, with the zinnias insistently claiming their place in the landscape.
Paul continues—
What if none of these exist at the moment you arrive, no gesture, line, relationship, expression and no light? Then be patient, wait, breathe and give everything some space to breathe. The American photographer Minor White says “Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence.”
In his recent post, Let down by the light?, Paul Sanders sets the record straight on the familiar complaint echoed by photographers everywhere about how light is the factor that makes or breaks an image.
So let us reframe this light issue. There is no such thing as bad light! Light is just light, sunlight, harsh light, soft light, moonlight, starlight, candlelight, incandescent light, reflected light, transmitted light, every form of light gives a quality of its own that we as photographers can and could learn to work with.
Light is never to blame, we are for our lack of flexibility and openness.
Photography is about light yes, but it is more about connection, relationship, gesture, line, texture, expression.
