Hello, I’m Gill and I write a photography blog inspired by the landscapes of Suffolk and beyond. Please subscribe to read more of my writing and visit my website to view my images.
As a landscape photographer who publishes a range of calendars every year I feel it is my job to chase the light. If I get up and the sky looks promising from my easterly facing bedroom window then I will grab my camera bag and wellies and head out. Photography, particularly for calendars, is all about showing off locations in beautiful light.
Sometimes these photoshoots are planned the night before with the aid of some trusted apps (Clear outside for weather and tide times for the sea level). But other times they are simply a response to the conditions on the day. Which ever way I choose to shoot chasing the light for calendar images can be exhausting!
During the last week we have seen a series of storms roll through from the west, buffeting the coast, battering us with strong winds and drenching us in rain. For the most part I chose to stay at home and focus on my workshop planning safe in the knowledge that grey skies don’t sell calendars.
However on Tuesday morning I dashed out in response to the lightening dawn sky. From my bedroom window I could see a clear gap on the horizon above which a mackerel sky (rows of cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds) promised bright colours ahead.
I drove to the coast, scrabbled around for a composition and spent 15 minutes taking images as the sun rose and the clouds burned with colour. The light changed so fast, helped along by quickly encroaching clouds as another storm front rolled in from the west.
After my first composition (above) I wandered along the sea wall taking different shots as the light evolved. Sunrises on days like this are awe inspiring and emotional - if you have never watched one you really should. But as much as I love these conditions I often don’t really like the images they produce. Contrasty, bright light, beautiful to behold at the time but too flashy for my image making. They feel opposed to my personality, shouting for attention where I prefer a more subtle approach.
I turned my back to the rising sun and focused on a scene out to the west as the warm light of morning caught the tips of the reeds swaying in the breeze. The colours were soft and understated, pastel hues that made the landscape feel more beautiful to me than the vibrant colours to the east.
I continued to the mouth of the creek where the sea was rolling around the shingle banks at great speed, flooding into the creek with the urgency of morning. Eddies and currents drew patterns on the surface of the water as the wind blew the clouds towards the sun, rubbing the dawn colours from the sky.
The light was softer now and I felt more in tune with the moment. This light was more my style!
I wanted to share these images to illustrate the power of light in landscape photography and to show how quickly it changes. There was half an hour between the first image and the last. Not much time to respond to conditions, find new compositions, capture the shots and savour the moment!
Walking back to the car I began to wonder why chasing sunrise colours has become such an important part of my photography when I am often so dissatisfied with the results. Why does the presence of bright, vibrant skies feel wrong in some landscapes?
Light plays a huge part in establishing a mood within an image - it is the emotive part of the scene and probably the first thing that connects with the viewer. Maybe there are times when the light just doesn’t tell the right story.
Below are three images taken in the same place in different lighting conditions. All three images are taken at sunrise, two were taken in winter and one was taken in spring. The location depicts the remains of a Second World War gun tower which overlooks some local ponds. It is a location I know really well and one that I associate with peace, tranquility and wildlife.
Whilst I like all three images the first one doesn’t feel as representative of the area as the second two. Even though it was taken on a calm misty morning the mood that is portrayed isn’t as calming as the other two shots. For me this all comes down to the colours of the sunrise - they are too shouty for the way I think about the area.
I have also photographed this location (from the other side of the pond) in completely flat light and stormy conditions and the resulting image has become one of my favourites from this site. This has less to do with the light and more to do with the story I wanted to tell and the creative process I used to tell it.
As an historical site I feel the slightly longer exposure and painterly effect in this image goes some way to expressing the turbulent nature of the areas past and the vulnerability it now has with the eroding coastline and rising sea levels. I have included this image to show that you don’t need stunning light to create interesting images. In an absence of light creative thinking is more important.
The word photography literally means drawing with light and in all photography books and articles we are encouraged to seek out ‘good light’. But what is ‘good light’ and how do we find it? Is it the vibrant colours found at the start or end of the day or is it the more nuanced light that could occur at any moment and may just compliment the scene in a more perfect way?
Light is definitely the key to a great image, but in some of my favourite photographs is more about being the right light. For me this needs to compliment the landscape I am photographing and the story I am trying to tell with my image.
I will always prefer pastel sunrise colours to vibrant shouty ones but I will never stop chasing the light, however exhausting it may sometimes feel. Even if the images I create don’t quite work, I know I can come out again and try something different on another morning. That is the beauty of working locally, I can persevere until I get the shot I am looking for in the conditions that suit the landscape I am photographing and the story I wish to tell.
Certain sunrises may not suit my photography style but I will always enjoy photographing them. I will never cease to be amazed by the beauty of nature. Witnessing the sunrise on any new day is always worth getting up for even if the photography doesn’t quite work - the experience is always worth more than the end result.
Light is a huge topic in landscape photography and I have just given you my thoughts sparked by one vibrant sunrise - I hope they will inspire some ideas. I would love to know what you all feel about the subject and what light you prefer to shoot in.
I will leave you with the following quote from George Eastman founder of the Eastman Kodak Company.
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”
If you are interested in hearing a bit more about my approach to photography you can listen to an interview I did with Kim Grant for her Photographic Connections Podcast. The episode airs today and can be found here.
Thank you very much for reading and until next time, enjoy your photography.
I believe that photographers have to be true to themselves creatively. Whilst of course an income has to be made and so commercially images that aren't what we truly connect to have to be taken to pay the bills, so it's important for our creative souls to follow the style (and the light) that feels 'right' for us to make images that we can connect with on deeper level...and perhaps build our individual photographic identity. Your soft pastel images are a prime example - as well as being beautiful, they are instantly recognisable as your work and I'm sure the reason most people engage with your blog or join your workshops.
A spectacular sunrise or sunset is always exciting to watch and try and photograph but the resulting photos are not really representative of the place. As your photos show, beautiful light comes in many forms - I love the soft dreamy light of the River Ore image and the delicate colours of the longer exposure. Beautiful work Gill