Subtle Palette
One of the demands placed upon a landscape photographer is to make an image of a subject that takes the viewer to the very point where you were standing when you opened the shutter. Stand, point, shoot. Simple. Where is the demand in that, you rightly ask. But let's move this on a stage, up the ante. Now the challenge is to add a second layer: Make a photograph with enough visual clues so the viewer can imagine the sound of the subject. Getting harder (and yes, switching on the video of your DSLR at this point is cheating).
Now let's increase the stakes even further and add a third layer: Make an image that gives a strong indication about what inspired you to make the image in the first place, that hints at what you the photographer feel about the subject, and actually peels open some of your own personality. Now you have to really think. And that is the point when landscape photography moves beyond being a source of record and becomes interesting, hugely creative and extremely rewarding.
The world was cast in frost as I walked up the Langstrath Valley in Borrowdale in the Lake District. A late November sunrise promised much but failed to deliver and slush-coloured cloud took its place. Level diffused light removed the beck's sparkle but repaid with denser colour, smoother saturation, a subtle palette. Pale turquoise bedrock cast its colour upwards to join sensuous glides of shrill water. Meeting the creative challenge of expressive photography means keeping your ears, heart and mind open, as well as your eyes.