I was recently interviewed by Alex Schult of PhotographyTalk, and he had some great questions, some of which uncovered things that you do as a photographer, perhaps so automatically now that you don’t even think about them. One of the questions was, “What is your best photography tip?”
My first inclination was to say something safe, perhaps even obvious. The classic photographers’ adage “f/8 and be there” would have worked, it’s still great advice. But while a safe camera setting and getting out more can deliver you fantastic moments that you wouldn’t have anticipated, even many of those opportunities can often be anticipated and maximized by arriving in a great location in a peak season. Ideally you want to be in a great location, in a peak season, in times of great light (weather or sunrise, sunset), and have interesting subjects to place in strong compositions.
Season
What are the best seasons for peak conditions in that location? Spring wildflowers? Fall colors? Summer storms? Snow? Fall in Yosemite offers fall colors, but also possibilities for storms, ground fog, and potentially a sunset moon rise near Half Dome.
Is there an additional astronomical opportunity that can help set your image apart from the rest? Moon rise at sunset, moon set at sunrise, meteor shower, an approaching comet expected to be particularly bright? If a travel location, is there an event that will provide extra cultural opportunities or location access?For example, low angle “winter light” is particularly good in December and into January, on either side of the winter solstice. On December 12, 2021 Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) will be closest to earth. On December 13/14 the Geminid Meteor shower will peak. Then on January 3 the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks. So we’ve planned two trips for winter light, one December 10-14 and another January 2-7. The full moon on December 18 provides opportunities for sunset moon rise and sunrise moons et shots, but that’s 3 days of opportunities, without dark sky night photography, so we’ve planned a shorter, targeted December 17-19 workshop at Mono Lake for that. All three workshops have the inherent landscapes of the location, sunrise and sunsets, and winter light, plus additional rare astronomical opportunities. Why settle for less?
Light
Is there a predictable time of day when the light will be best? Sunset, sunrise and “golden hour” are often considered to be obvious choices. But combine the desire for low angle sunlight with season, and there may be certain months that offer low angle sunlight for much of the day at far northern latitudes. In mid-northern latitudes, “winter light” close to the winter solstice may have the sun rising at most to about 30 degrees in elevation, compared to 60 degrees just a few months later in March, so the sun rises at a lower angle and produces high quality light for more of the day. There also may be a time of day when light enters a slot canyon or lava tube. Or the sun may align with sand dune ridges while low in the sky, to provide shadows to accentuate their undulations.
So in summary, while most visitors simply go to place like a National Park and take what they get for conditions, light and weather, photographers can to pursue a greater number of unique opportunities within peak seasons. By doing this you can set yourself up for more total opportunities, more unique results, and a greater diversity of results. Every year we plan workshops around winter light, lunar rainbow “moonbows, meteor showers, moon rises and moon sets, even an occasional comet. If you think of a national park as a cake and a peak season as “the icing on the cake”, these additional opportunities are extra decorations on top. So don’t settle for a bare cake, or just cake and icing, when you can have even more. Let’s face it, The most valuable commodity we have is our time. Allocate it wisely, for maximum opportunity. Serendipitous, unexpected bonus opportunities will still occur, on top of everything else you’ve anticipated.
I’ve added examples from the Mono Lake Basin and Death Valley below.
Photographers, expand your opportunities – add astronomical events to your seasonal coverage goals for stunning locations: https://t.co/jJQxJvut1P #MonoLake #easternsierra #california #photographyworkshops pic.twitter.com/SAAHuYFbIu
— DSLR astronomer (@DSLRastronomy) September 27, 2021
Photographers, you can plan your trips around meteor showers, eclipses, a comet, Milky Way and the moon, in addition to peak seasons in amazing places: https://t.co/JqBGWY9ybJ #deathvalley #nationalpark #california #landscapephotography #nightphotography pic.twitter.com/OU4zsDtU9S
— Jeff Sullivan Photo (@JeffSullPhoto) September 27, 2021
Our upcoming workshops are planned this way, with opportunities coming up for the comet, meteor showers, moon rise and set, Milky Way, and more, in addition to our pursuit of peak seasonal conditions in the stunning locations that we visit.
For more nuggets of wisdom, here’s that recent interview that I referenced at the beginning of this article:
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