I was recently giving thought to the onset of autumn – and then winter – and the roller-coaster of weather we’ll inevitably be dished up. I’ve always been a fan of ostensibly ‘bad’ weather although over the years, I’ve struggled to find people who share such a view. I was buoyed therefore on reading a recent blog post by colleague Bruce Percy, who’s difficulty in filling his winter landscape workshops on Harris & Skye, reveals an apparent widespread reluctance to photographing during the ‘dark months’. As Bruce says – and I agree with him – photographing on the edge of dynamic weather systems is often the most rewarding.
Inaweek or so I’ll be headed off to Harris myself with a group of guests who have ‘seen the light’. I’m sure we’re all hoping for a nice bit of sunny weather to reveal the turquoise Hebridean sea as we sit eating our lunch, but at the same time, I’m hoping for changeable weather providing exciting light. Yes it might rain. I guess it could even snow, but in between, there’s change and that’s when it all happens.
Perhaps we all need to re-arrange our photographic thought processes and spend the ‘good months’ processing the images from the time we spend on the edge during autumn and winter. It can be an unforgiving edge but ‘bad weather’ is only bad for those who aren’t prepared to embrace it.
I’ve seen it ascribed to Roald Amundsen -perhaps inaccurately – that “there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing”. I guess you could say the same for the ‘clothing’on your camera – perhaps “no such thing as bad weather, only poor ‘O’ ring seals, misted-up viewfinders and rain-spattered front elements”! But I have to agree with you, Pete; why else do you think Karen & I keep turning up in February? 🙂
I couldn’t agree more with your comments Pete. Mind you I still sometimes find it hard to motivate myself to go out for the umpteenth time in the hope of getting my timing right. It’s not so bad when you are with others though, for some reason the shared experience seems more fun and I am surprised that more folks are not taking these courses up. Perhaps it is the fear of coping with the weather as opposed to not appreciating how much can be gained from it.
Mind there have been more than a few occasions over the last few years when I have been stood on a hillside in the wind and rain wondering what the hell I am doing here? Still in my old job I used to think that most days.