Stormy weather is the best ingredient for landscape photography

Monday 25 April 2022, 16:32 by Nando Harmsen | 3,839 views | 6 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Anyone who does landscape photography knows that a deep blue sky is not interesting. But neither is a flat grey sky. So what do you want? The answer is stormy weather. That is the best ingredient for landscape photography. The photos of the Opal Coast speak for themselves.

Did you read my previous article? It was about avoiding high expectations in photography. As an example, I used the expectations I had during my trip to the Opal Coast, a few years ago.

What a shame that grey sky was during sunrise. I had such high expectations at the time. So that was disappointing.

If you have not read that article yet, click the link to the article "Make sure you do not set your expectations too high in your photography".

At the beginning of April, I went to the Opal Coast with a small group of enthusiastic photographers for a long-exposure masterclass. This time, my expectations were not as high as the ones I mentioned in the previous article. In fact, I had no expectations.

Bad weather

This was the weekend when we had snow in April. That is not so unusual, because as long as there is still an R in the month, anything can happen. The saying "April does what it wants" exists for a reason. The forecast was for low temperatures, snow and rain, and a little sunshine breaking through the clouds.

Someone in the Netherlands sent me a message afterwards, saying it was a shame about the bad weather. As if a photographer wants clear blue skies and pleasant temperatures. But it is precisely that stormy weather that provides the best ingredient for landscape photography.

The same wreck as in the first photo, but now in better conditions. Those conditions naturally did not depend on my expectations, but they did determine how I felt when I was standing there in those conditions.

We had plenty of hail and rain thrown at us. Not that we were greatly bothered by it, but sometimes it did dampen our enthusiasm for going out. At seven in the morning, it can be difficult to walk onto the beach in the rain.

Clouds and the most beautiful light

The cloud cover changed every second. On the horizon, rain showers passed by as hazy vertical streaks in the sky. Sometimes the approaching clouds were as dark as night.

Then the sun broke through and gave the land a magical warm glow. In the backlight, all the details in the clouds became visible, and the light sparkled in myriads of drops like diamonds. Reflections of those dramatic clouds appeared in tidal pools.

Just after the rain, the clouds broke up and beautiful colours and enormous drama appeared in the sky.

During the day, it remained wonderful to photograph, with the incoming tide raising the water level by a metre every hour. That is when you really gain respect for the untamed power of the sea. It is a joy to photograph, with or without long exposures.

Long exposures beneath a blue, cloudy sky. Do not be mistaken, the light changed continuously and the clouds were the icing on the cake.

When you least expect it

Many participants were surprised by the magical light, the drama of the clouds, the power of the water and the beauty of the landscapes. Even we, who know the area well and know the effect it has on a photographer, had not expected this.

The sun disappeared behind the clouds, then peeped out from underneath the cloud for a moment just before it disappeared behind the horizon.

Should you avoid high expectations?

High expectations once led to a kind of disappointment. This time, we had ideal weather for a landscape photographer, while I had no expectations. Is there a connection?

No, I do not think that my lack of expectations beforehand led to these perfect ingredients for landscape photography that weekend. This was nothing more than coincidence and good luck. You cannot force this kind of luck.

The next masterclass is in May. The memory of this weekend will still be fresh then. There is a very good chance that it will not be as perfect as it was this time. So I need to be careful, and not expect even stormy weather to bring about a repeat performance.

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