The Number 1 Rule of Landscape PhotographyNine good friends from my camera club went up to Cradle Mountain for two nights a few weeks ago. The idea was to capture the brilliant turning of the fagus (deciduous Beech, Nothofagus gunnii) which occurs in Tasmania’s sub-alpine areas around the end of April.Phil and I arrived just after lunchtime on Friday and were able to get to Crater Lake to see it in all its glory. Saturday was terrible – heavy rain all day and we all got very wet doing the Dove Lake Circuit. The highlight was visiting the Wilderness Gallery at the Cradle Mountain Chateau where there is some inspirational photography from masters of their craft.
And now to the point of the story. My idea to get up at 5am on Sunday and walk up to the Twisted Lakes for sunrise didn’t get a great reception. But Phil joined me and we struggled up by torchlight in the bitterly cold morning. Not long after starting, Phil’s cries alerted me to head back – he had simply fallen off the track and was 5 metres below doing a turtle impersonation, lying helplessly flat on his back on his pack. Still we struggled up, wondering what we were doing there. We reached Twisted Lakes about ½ hour before dawn and waited – and waited – and waited, getting colder and colder. No dawn! Defeated, we headed back down, wishing we’d stayed in our sleeping bags. And then it happened. Nature put on a light show, periodically lighting up Little Horn as the clouds scudded past. Pure magic, we arrived back elated. So what is the number 1 rule of landscape photography? BE THERE! Without it, all other techniques fail. |
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