Rain, Hail, Wind: Why Foul Weather's Great for Dramatic Photos
Dramatic photo of receding mist revealing shape and texture, Yellow Mountain, China.
Making dramatic photos of the landscape isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would be doing it. However, over the years, I’ve discovered a direct link between the weather and those incredibly dramatic photos of the natural world we’d all like to create ourselves.
The most dramatic photos of the landscape are made either side of bad weather. The worse the weather, the more dramatic the change as the sun’s rays break through clouds and illuminate the landscape in sublime light. The secret to creating dramatic photos of our natural world is to be there and to be ready to capture the transient, transforming and transcendental nature of light on the landscape.
Just be aware that this post, illustrated with photos I made on Yellow Mountain in China, deals with the notion of creating dramatic photos either side of bad weather.
This practice allows you to keep your camera warm, dry and protected from the elements should you find yourself in the landscape with rain, hail or snow bearing down upon you.
I’ve created another post titled Rainy Day Pics and Inclement Weather which includes photos taken in and of the rain.
Yellow Mountain China: Where Beauty And Dramatic Weather Collide
One of my favorite trips involved a hiking and photography adventure to Huangshan also known as Yellow Mountain in Eastern China.
Undertaken during the middle of winter, the dramatic photos of the snow covered landscapes I’d been dreaming about were obscured during most of my visit.
Nonetheless, the hike was an amazing adventure and the experience of being surrounded by mist, through almost all of my three day trek, was a truly ethereal experience.
It was my fourth visit to China and, while undertaken during the middle of winter, the photos I made on that trip make it the most successful China adventure I’ve experienced, thus far.
That’s not to say it was easy. It was most certainly not.
Hiking up and down the mountain trails on Yellow Mountain is hard work. And that’s particularly the case if, like me, your level of fitness could be described as somewhere south of average.
Having to carry a heavy backpack, loaded with warm, winter clothes and a decent sized camera kit added to the difficulty of my three-day winter trek across Huangshan.
Have no doubt about the challenging nature of this most epic photography adventure.
By all means do it, but be aware of what’s involved.
Bad Weather: Be Patient And Earn Your Reward
I've chosen the above photo as an example of the opportunities that await the patient and prepared photographer on the edges of bad weather.
Moments earlier, the entire mountain side was covered in cloud.
However, after looking at the speed at which the clouds were moving, I felt that it was worth waiting around in the hope that a break in the clouds might reveal an interesting landscape on this high and remote Yellow Mountain pass.
I was not disappointed, and I consider the fleeting moment when the clouds parted, revealing fantastic shapes and textures in the winter landscape, to be a reward for my patience and for trusting my intuition.
Dramatic photo of mist, swirling around a rock formation, on Huangshan, China.
Ansel Adams: Dramatic Photos of the Landscape
The great American black and white landscape photographer Ansel Adams was known for his compelling images of the American west, particular Yosemite.
Adams photos feature mountains, trees and water features like rivers, waterfalls and glaciers.
However, it's how Adams rendered dramatic cloud formations, against dark grey skies, that I find particularly evocative.
In fact, I'd argue that many of Ansel Adam's best and most dramatic photos are as much about the weather as they are about the mountain scenery with which he is usually associated.
I made this dramatic photo of mist swirling around a rock formation, after following my intuition and exploring a side path off the main trail on Huangshan Mountain.
While the scene looked fine in color, converting the original file into a black and white produced, to my way of thinking, a more atmospheric and evocative image.
There’s no doubt about the nostalgic, old world quality of a well constructed black and white photo. That’s particularly the case when the subject matter of the image explores notions of age, wear, endurance and the passing of time.
And they’re the kinds of metaphors suggested in this particular image. Wouldn’t you say?
Dramatic photo of peaks, emerging through fog, on the sublime Huangshan Mountain.
Dramatic Photos and The Search For The Sublime
Bad weather is, by it's very nature, unpredictable.
But great light can appear, either side of a weather front, and transform the landscape in the most remarkable ways.
Only a few minutes before I made this photo the scene I was approaching was enveloped in heavy fog.
However, as the sun began to rise it warmed the air and, as is often the case at sunrise, a gentle breeze began to sweep back the fog and reveal emerging peaks on the Yellow Mountain range.
Given the fleeting nature of these truly serendipitous moments, you need to be there, in position and properly attired, with your camera ready to go.
Patience, determination and a willingness to gamble on the outcome is also necessary if you’re looking to create really dramatic photos of our natural world.
However, to be in the game and to set yourself up for success, you simply have to be there and be prepared to suffer a measure of discomfort in the service of your art.
Needless to say, you need to keep your wits about you during such times. Always do what’s needed to be done to ensure you remain safe, particulalry in the wilder and more remote parts of our planet.
Making Dramatic Photos Is A Physical Endeavor
In landscape photography, you can only go so far making the kind of safe, comfortable images that most folks take during the middle of the day, not too far away from their cars.
But in some cases, that’s simply not enough.
Sometimes, making really dramatic photos requires the kind of physical effort that goes well beyond taking a mere snapshot.
That might entail doing one or more of the following:
Walking or hiking, sometimes a considerable distance
Carrying your camera gear, and weather proof clothing, on long hikes and over difficult terrain
Getting up early and travelling to your destination, well before the sun rises
Being out in the rain, and suffering through hot, windy and/or extremely cold conditions
Getting out and about before sunrise and/or after sunset
Being uncomfortable, particularly during times when you’re standing around waiting for the weather to clear and the light to shine through and transform the world around you
Being sleep deprived and missing out on one or more meals
Unfortunately, if you’re looking to create really dramatic photos, you need to be prepared to put yourself out there on the edges of inclement weather.
All in the hope that epic light will break through and transform the landscape from bleak to sublime.
Needless to say, there are no guarantees. From my own experience, such images need to be thrice earned.
In other words, you might have to repeat the entire exercise, from rising early, driving to the location, trekking to a suitable vantage point, and waiting in the hope of great light.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
I’ve certainly had to do so in my own search for dramatic landscape photos.
It’s not always possible to achieve your goal, particularly when you’re travelling and on a tight schedule, but the goddess of photography keeps us honest by rewarding those whom work hardest for their success.
It's a key difference between the armchair traveller and the adventurous, committed artist.
Frankly, meals and relative comfort are often pushed aside for the experience of witnessing and recording such sublime beauty.
Photography is, after all, a game of compromise. And compromise involves effort and, on occasions, a degree of physical discomfort.
In this regard, I suspect, a photographers life is a little like that of an athletes. After a while you begin to feed off the pain.
“Travel and photography, one is made more powerful by the other.”
From my point of view, it's certainly worth it. I see these kinds of compromises as an essential factor in being able to create great photos along your journey through life.
To be able to create a visual record of your travel experiences is a worthwhile endeavor. It’s longer lasting and easier to share than a fading memory from years gone by.
I wish you well in your own creative journey and in any and all adventures you undertake to create really dramatic photos either side of foul weather.
