VSP Workshops Blog

Storm Chasing in Tuscany….

Image by Lars Lindholm

Well perhaps ‘storm evading’ would be a more accurate description of what happened in Tuscany.  Every morning of the workshop, I’d hear somebody on CNN talking about the severe weather system currently pushing across Italy.  Given the forecasts, we were actually very fortunate with the weather.  From a photographer’s perspective, the one thing we hoped for on the workshop was dramatic weather.  Grey, flat light was a no-no, but if it had to be bad, we wanted storm clouds and drama – rather like a scene from Independence Day only without the Armageddon bit afterwards.

Worth thinking about this for a moment – you’re a landscape photographer, you’ve got a trip planned, and your watching the weather forecast which hardly looks promising.  It’s probably happened to many of you, and here at VSP, it’s obviously something we have to pay close attention to when running a photo tour.  Now from a workshop perspective, we obviously want things to be as fun and pleasant as possible, so calm and pleasant weather is always preferable.  However, getting wet and muddy aside, from a purely photographic perspective, bad weather is by no means a sign that your planned landscape shoot is going to be ruined – far from it.

My personal view is this – if it’s raining, work with what you have – don’t turn up to your landscape location with a view of making macro shots of sunflowers against a blue sky, when what you really should be capitalising on, is what nature is throwing at you.  If it’s raining, better that it’s pouring down than a modest drizzle.  If there’s no sun, better black clouds, then a blanket of grey.  It’s all about taking advantage of what nature throws at you – and quite often when nature hurls a curve ball at you, you can end up making some pretty spectacular shots.

So what are some of the pitfalls to watch our for when shooting in bad weather?  Here are a few things worth considering for when the weather takes a turn for the worst:

Top Tips for Shooting in Bad Weather

• TEXTURES – Grey skies soften the light completely – no direct sun means no or little contrast, and little contrast takes away definition, which in landscapes can often create shape, form and depth.  You will need to look for other ways to add depth to your landscape, such as foreground details, and textures.  A field full of wheat or ploughed earth will help bring a landscape on a dull day to life
• ABSTRACT – If light is very low, and you’re shooting at apertures of f16, f18 or f22, then your corresponding shutter speed is going to be quite low.  If it’s a stormy day, then chances are there is a strong wind. Whilst a tripod will of course keep your camera still, you may well have elements moving around in your shot – even clouds moving across the sky will show as blurred, not to mention trees or grass blowing in the wind.  Be aware of this, and use it to your advantage – try not to end up with objects that are slightly blurred – it will look like a mistake – commit to your creative choice, and make the movement a part to your image
• BE PATIENT & VISUALISE – Don’t be put off by what a scene looks like in poor light.  I can’t remember how many times it’s happened that I was looking at a very picturesque landscape, that in a moment of poor light, actually looked quite ordinary.  Then suddenly the light breaks through a portion of storm cloud and hits the hills, and suddenly a building site turns into a stunning vista.  I think knowing your location helps here, as you could easily drive off thinking that there was no shot to be made.  Also, an ability to visualise is very valuable here – always thinking about constructing your images – ‘this view looks ok ‘- ‘what if the sun hit this spot – or what if the clouds darkened over there’.  You have to be willing to use your imagination even when what’s in front of you looks uninspiring
• SHOWING Vs INTERPRETING – We’re touching on a big concept here…but when you’re visualising a shot – what to put in your frame, what to keep out – generally speaking, the more you put in your frame (of what’s in front of you), then the better it needs to look.  I’ll explain.  When you’re stood in front of the Taj Mahal, at sunrise, there’s really very little that you should be doing to alter or augment reality.  The scene in front of you is quite simply stunning.  When you’re faced with a vista that is ok, with a dull light, then you as a photographer, have to put your creative thumbprint on this scene to a greater degree.  If it looks dull, then you generally seek to put your ‘interpretation’ on the scene more.  You may use a shallow depth of field, blur motion with a slow shutter speed, shoot in high contrast black and white, shoot macro, tilt-shift.  You’re using your creative skills, your craft and your equipment to ‘make the ordinary interesting’.  I can’t take the credit for that genius of this statement – it was Elliot Erwitt that said it – but it’s very true.  So – bad conditions, generally mean you need to dig a little deeper into your creative vault to make an interpretation that is interesting and unique.  Whilst on a workshop in London on Creative Seeing, somebody once asked me ‘how do you make something so cliched as Big Ben look interesting.  The best way I could convey my response was ‘show less of it’.  The more you show, the more interesting it needs to be to stand as an image – otherwise you’re just ‘showing’ what’s in front of you.  Create mystery, ‘suggest’ and propose – resist the temptation to just ‘show’ what’s in front of you – when you do that, you’re just pressing the button

I’ll leave it there for now – I think the crux of my advice is really about pulling back from the temptation to bring the camera to our eyes……..point, and….yes, you guessed the next bit…shoot.  For us to show what is in front of us with very minimal creative intervention as photographers – what’s in front of us needs to be interesting, unique, beautiful….but when we’re faced with our neighbourhood street, a grey day…..we as photographers need to start putting our print on the image – using our skills to turn what can be seen in 4D, 360 degree smell-o-vision human experience – and translating that onto a screen or piece of paper.  Ever get home with your images and find yourself saying, ‘I just didn’t capture what I felt and experienced when I was there’…?  It pays to try and understand this process as much as we can….

So here is a selection of some really interesting images taken by some of our participants this September in Tuscany.  Feel free to leave your comments – I’m sure the photographers will appreciate the feedback…thanks to everybody who attended, and well done on creating some great images..

Image by Lars Lindholm

Image by Lars Lindholm

Image by Lars Lindholm

Image by Lars Lindholm

Image by Scott Spagnoli

Image by Scott Spagnoli

Image by Scott Spagnoli

Image by Scott Spagnoli

Image by Scott Spagnoli

Image by Scott Spagnoli

Image by Vinne La Scalza

Image by Vinne La Scalza

Image by Vinne La Scalza