A couple of years ago Mark and I were in Banff National Park at the Vermilion Lakes, the light had not been very dramatic that morning as the sky was cloudy to the northeast and clear to the south with no cloud to under light and give more interest to the scenes that we photographed. Some of the photographers there that morning, were already packing up and leaving, maybe they did not see the potential or maybe they needed to get a cup of coffee into them to warm up but Mark and I weren’t done with it quite yet.

When out photographing at any location Mark and I try to be aware of the changes happening around us. One of the things that we watch for is how the light might potentially change. Is there a gap in the clouds or is the sun about to come out from behind the mountain ridge? We try to envision how the light may affect the scene in front of us. If we think it has potential we will stay and wait to see if it will pan out.

Some clouds had begun to break to the northeast and in the south a few clouds were drifting in from the west. We both noticed the light was about to change and so stayed a bit longer. The resulting images have there own strengths the first image has a cool, calm and relaxing mood while the image taken 3 minutes later has a warm, vibrant and inviting mood. The light and how it changed made a world of difference between the two images, they are the same but different.

So when you are out take the time to observe the changes around you, sometimes it can be worth the wait. – Leslie

Driftwood at Vermilion Lakes, Banff National Park, Alberta, cool light, Nikon D300, Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 ©Leslie Degner

Driftwood at Vermilion Lakes, Banff National Park, Alberta, warm light, Nikon D300, Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 ©Leslie Degner