Shot of the Month – October 2024

I stood by Reflection Lake in the late afternoon with low expectations.  I have never had much luck getting a good shot of Mt. Rainier at this time of day – usually, too much wind to get a reflection and rarely any good clouds.  I actually left my camera in the car figuring I would enjoy the scene like a normal person.   But then I almost jumped out of my skin when the clouds suddenly rolled in and the low sun started to bask them in warm light.  And the air was unusually calm allowing for a great reflection.  I ran and got my gear and started shooting.

Click here for more on this photo hotspot:

Dangerous Reflections

Many non-photographers are surprised to learn how important clouds are to creating a compelling sunrise/sunset landscape image.

How important?  Well, I know many a landscape photographer who will skip a potential shoot if there is a forecast for no clouds.  Clouds are so important that there are apps to predict the timing, height, and density of clouds for a given location.  Most serious landscape photographers have at least one or two of these apps on their phones and study them judiciously before heading out for a shoot.  Some include Clear Outside, Astrospheric (IoS, Android), and Windy.com (IoS, Android).

There is no doubt that the sun sinking beneath the horizon on a cloudless night at the beach can be serene, beautiful, and romantic….  But it rarely makes for a compelling image.  Clouds, when at the right height and density catch the sun’s glorious first or last rays of red, orange and yellows that humans love.  Clouds create drama and make an image more visually striking.

For example, this is a nice sunrise shot I took at Swiftcurrent Lake in Glacier National Park:

But look at what clouds can add to the scene:

(Ok yes, I found a better/more compelling foreground in the second image, but you still get the idea.  That sky is more dramatic and interesting)

In this sunset scene at the same location I had clouds but they were too dense to allow the colors to come through.  My solution was to go for a very long exposure that allowed the motion of the clouds to add drama and visual interest to the scene.

Read more about the story in getting these shots at Swiftcurrent Lake here:

Fire and Ice

The shot below of a tulip field at sunrise had some real potential but in the end fails due to the lackluster sky.  Nary a cloud….sigh.

In the image below at Rialto Beach the dramatic foreground and compelling silhouette make this a decent image but a few more clouds to catch some color would have taken it to another level:

See more on Rialto Beach here:  Rialto Beach

And in this next shot of the Lime Kiln Lighthouse we have juuuust enough clouds to make it a usable image:

But if I crop the image, to allow the clouds to fill more of the scene, I find it more compelling:

Click on the box to read more about how I got the shots at the Lime Kiln Lighthouse:  Landscape to Lovers

 

As you can see, a cloudy day is not always a bad thing.  And if you happen to be a landscape photographer, clouds are often essential to making our day into something special.

 

Until next month….michael