Canon 1DS Mk III, 1/50 sec @f/8, ISO 200, 153mm
“I do not invent the picture, on the contrary, I find it already there in nature; I just have to free it” – Vincent Van Gogh
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trees
Trees in Silence, Hudson Valley
“In a world filled with metrics and bestseller lists, it’s easy to decide that everyone is your competitor and easier still to worry about your rank. Worry all you want, but if it gets in the way of your art or starts changing your mission, it’s probably a mistake.” – Seth Godin
This great quote captures much of what I have struggled with over the years, and how I think about the whole issue of comparisons these days. Competition is rampant in landscape and nature photography – it seems there are always contests to enter, and endless ways to compare ourselves to the “competition”.
Just visit any art fair (or worse participate in one) to experience this first hand. The endless “I can do that” or “is my work good enough” really misses the point of it all. If you have something to say, then it should measure up against what you have said in the past. If it’s not making an impact, then it’s time to improve your vocabulary, or practice your story telling. Comparing our images to others doesn’t take into consideration many important variables like skill, dedication, practice, and most crucial personal experience.
If you allow your perceptions of where you stand in the overall “rank” of photography to guide your creativity, then you’ll never develop your own vision. Is there a shortage of photography in the world today? Not by any stretch of the imagination – in fact we are over saturated with imagery. I would argue that what is in short supply are original voices willing to tell their stories about what inspires them.
Don’t worry about competition, worry about whether you are getting any real responses to your work – often that comes when you forget about what everyone else is doing.
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Fundy Tide, NS
One of my goals on my recent trip to Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy was to try and make more black and white images, since it has always been a great way for me to study and work on compositional skills. Along the Bay of Fundy, the large variation in the tide is constantly changing the landscape, and the more time I spent along the shore, the more I became fascinated with the limitless lines, shapes, and forms along the coast. Learning to focus in on areas of contrast, and how they lead the eye is a skill that may take a lifetime to master, but is so vital to creating successful photographs.
In both of these images, I have tried to lead the eye to what I found most interesting in the scene, but they get there in different ways. “Fundy Tide” above primarily uses highlights to bring out the accents in the image – brighter rocks, flowing water, and the beautiful clouds lingering on the horizon. “Rocks and Tide” below uses the shadows and the rich darkness of the large rocks in the foreground to create interest, and help focus the eye on the tiny shells clinging to the rocks. The sky helps to balance the brightness of the water and keep the viewer moving back to the foreground.
Rocks and Tide, NS
In “Trees, Irving Nature Park” below, lines created by trees always excite me visually, and the patterns and repetitions they create are what always draw me into spending as much time as I can in a forest like this- serene, majestic, yet intimate. While I photographed just the vertical trees, this version with the horizontal tree in the foreground helps to anchor the image a bit more in my opinion, and create some tension, especially with the two other horizontal trees moving the eye up towards the middle of the image.
Trees, Irving Nature Park, NB
The photographic possibilities along the Bay of Fundy are not only truly inspiring, but limitless in terms of where your interests lie, whether that is landscapes, wild life, macro and intimate scenes, or the maritime experience of boats, people, fishing, etc,. I will be returning this October during the fall season to explore so many areas that I visited yet did not have the time to photograph.
I have written here in the past about how familiarity is so important to really capturing the character of a place, as well as your emotions and feelings. Every time I visit Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy I learn a little bit more about myself and why I continue to return. The whole point is to share those feelings with others, and of course remind inspired to be creative. I hope this gives you some food for thought and helps you find your way in your own work. Thanks for reading!
Below are a few examples of areas that were inspiring and are on my list to return to in October.
Delap Cove, NS
Pot Rock, NB
Brier Island, NS
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