Sometimes I feel like I should find something to do with my life that's much easier. Trying to capture still images that hold a viewer's attention for more than a few nanoseconds is a thankless task under ideal circumstances. So what to do?
One thing I enjoy is getting out and exploring nature. When you live in suburbia and are surrounded by tacky architecture, concrete and strip malls, being in the forest, even for a few hours, is pure pleasure. Trying to capture an image that conveys some of that emotional content is a royal pain in the ass. the weather seldom cooperates, backgrounds are a problem and trying to be in a place when the light is ideal is next to impossible. Only the most serious photographers appreciate the difficulty factor. But we put up with all that because we're striving to do something that's a little more interesting than the other million images that will be posted on any given day. We don't always succeed, but the challenge is worthwhile, and that keeps us going.
Today's image is the ruins of a Pioneer's cabin in the Doughton Park wildlife management area. This park's northern border is the Blue Ridge Parkway from mile posts 239 to 245.
This area was settled from the mid 1800s and it's likely this home was built sometime around 1880. This home and dozens of others were washed away during the disasterous floods of July 1916. The remains are only 30 yards from the existing stream bed. The site is along the Basin Creek Trail which starts roughly 2 miles from the nearest parking, along Grassy Gap Road.
This area is great for hiking. There are many trails that rate from easy to strenuous. This trail is just moderately strenuous. That relates to photography because it's in a valley with somewhat steep sides. The sun doesn't get over the ridge line until after 10am. And then the light is coming straight down through the trees. This is the kind of light cameras hate. The image devolves into light and dark spots. A modern camera's exposure system is based on seeing a scene as averaging 18% grey. When there are no mid-tones, the highlights burn out and the shadows get clipped. HDR can be of some help but not a complete solution because the real problem is the pattern.
The solution is to use the soft sky light of early morning or late afternoon when the sun is below the ridge line. Or go on an overcast day. If you want the best light it means you'll be starting or ending your hike when it's dark.
I started this expedition in the predawn hours on a day where the forecast was for 80% cloud cover through daylight hours. A good plan since by 10:30 when the sun was high, there were zero clouds and the light was impossible. This shot was taken before 8:00 when the light was nice.
My take away from all this? If you have a desire to go beyond taking pictures from the tourist spots, it gets exponentially more difficult with increasing distance from the parking lot.
Does that make your pictures better in any way? Absolutely not. The millions of people people browsing photo web sites don't care. Most people don't care about history or art either. A picture of a cute kitten will get you a thousand times the views of a wonderful waterfall or landscape. You do it for your own satisfaction and for the community of people who also enjoy getting off the beaten path.
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