As landscape photographers, some locations we shoot have limited compositions available, and some have a vast variety of untapped potential. With limited composition, a place can become mundane and overshot, but when an area has more potential, it lends itself well to creativity. It is places such as this that can really define “what we are made of” in terms of composing meaningful photographs. The Columbia Hills of Washington state is one of these vast locations, absolutely sprawling with places to shoot. However, some of the “classic” compositions are bordering on cliche, due to their popularity. Its an area of rolling hills of natural grassland with millions of flowers in mid spring; between hills are small gullies with white Oaks lining their banks. Over 6 square miles of this rolling landscape, and yet the Columbia Hills is becoming somewhat mundane and overshot. I think this is largely in part due to the copy-cat effect. Not to say that following each other is a bad thing, but that at some point as serious landscape photographers we must follow our experiences to unique compositions in the well known spots and even to new, lesser explored landscapes.
I travelled to the Columbia Hills last year not knowing what to expect. I came away with two shots that I really like (one of which is shown above), and that were somewhat different from many that I had seen and that I mentioned before. This year I decided to focus on shooting in the Oak trees, and researched individual photographs of the area from the portfolios of Marc Adamus. I set up ideal compositions in my head based on what I saw on his website, and this was my big mistake. I arrived 1.5 hours before sunset hoping to stumble upon one of his spots with Oak trees and flowers and sweeping views. Someone clued me in that the compositions were “down hill from the road” and near one of the gullies. As I hiked, however, I realized that I was after the wrong thing. I wanted to replicate, not compose a photograph of my own creative compositional work. Joseph Rossbach recently posted an article about feeling a connection to the landscape, and how that can seriously benefit your results ( here ). Not only did I not find the Adamus compositions that night, I was also in the wrong mindset.
For the first time in quite awhile, I really did not enjoy myself in the natural landscape set before me. I walked around the lower fields in desperation to find my predetermined and perfected composition before sunset. As I eventually realized my mistake, I began to loosen up and open my eyes to the potential of the area. I settled on a big patch of Lupine and Balsamroot flowers. I needed something easy to clear my head. Sunset came and went, and then I set out to explore potential sunrise spots in the dark. Lesson learned, I wanted another chance in the morning to get a meaningful composition. I phoned a friend to help point me in the direction of a spot he knew of. With the gusting wind and fatigue from the day, going was slow, and I just wasn’t finding anything in the dark. I turned around and decided that I had done as much as I could. In the morning, before sunrise, I thought in a different way. I had parked on a tall hill overseeing the whole area. Ideally I would have some binoculars to scope things out – but I gave myself good time to find something I liked. I had cleared every composition I had seen of the Oaks out of my head, and went to find my own.
Sunset:
Sometimes there is just no way around shooting the same spot as others have before you. So what is the ideal process for finding composition in these well known areas? It would be foolish to say that research is not useful for finding a location. It is also foolish to say to never shoot the same place as other photographers who have gone before you. But when you find amazing photographs of places, my advice is to not seek after those photographs. Keep the ideas in your head, but distance yourself; do not conform. We’ve all seen that shot with the patch of flowers five inches from the front element; get creative and move beyond that overdone composition. Open your mind to natural leading lines. Gain the information necessary to get to the location, then take your own time to really explore. Get the feel for the landscape as you explore. Be open minded to what may come. Be willing to recompose if the light goes off in the wrong direction. If you are more of a diehard, I would certainly recommend trying the location more than one day (patience is key). Bring binoculars and be willing to hike for miles to find the right spot. Interestingly enough, after I searched and searched for the ideal location the night before in the dark, I found a spot that satisfied me and it was very close to the spot I had originally wanted to shoot, based on the Adamus picture. The important thing, though, is that I had no one else’s compositions in mind when I finally found my own.
Jamey Pyles Photography 