As my husband and I were traversing the Mojave Desert, it seemed as if we were the only people on the road. Overhead, dark rain clouds veiled the sunlight and in the distance, thick pockets of water began to fall. We decided to pull over on the shoulder of the highway to watch the rain slowly move across the sandy landscape. Before it completely set, the sun broke through the clouds. Only for mere moments, its golden rays danced over the adjacent falling rain, painting it pink.
If you’re serious about capturing usual weather phenomenon, have your camera ready and with you at all times. It is important for weather photographers to be attentive and patient. If you’re driving down the road, and you notice beautiful sunset light adjacent dark clouds, rain or even seemingly average clouds, stop your car at a safe pull-off and watch and wait. Light, especially through moisture, and clouds can change within the blink of an eye–as in the photo above, the “pink rain phenomenon” only lasted briefly. A lot of people miss these types of occurrences for lack of attentiveness and patience.
The photo above was taken several minutes prior to the previous photo. It is apparent how dark the sky was before the “pink rain phenomenon,” but as you can see on my subject (my husband), there were still pockets of golden light peaking horizontally through the adjacent clouds. I found an area of this golden light and positioned my husband in a way that illumined his face. The contrasting light on his face against the dark background displays the depth of field in this photo.
The above photo was taken on the Apache Trail Scenic Byway in the Tonto National Forest of Arizona. Rain in this particularly area of Arizona is extremely rare and so it drastically changes the landscape into scenes most people don’t get an opportunity to see and experience. I wanted to display the experience of this moment by bringing to life what it felt like to me–the strong sandy wind, beneath the heaviest sky, blowing the smell of the wet desert through my skin–this was one of my favorite moments.
In order to capture the depth of this landscape, I set my camera’s f-stop to f/9.0, bumped the ISO to 160, and in order to keep the image sharp, I slightly underexposed at 1/160. I then handed my camera to my husband, told him to rapid shoot as I span around in circles and let the wind whip around my hair, signifying the freedom felt (if you’re alone, a tripod and timer would also work, especially at this aperture). Don’t be afraid to use yourself as the subject in your images. Placing yourself in your photos is total personalization and connects your viewer to your work, because it connects them to you as an artist and as a person.
On the subject of self-portraits, the above photo was taken with a tripod and self-timer. A tropical storm off of the coast of Maine stirred the Atlantic and filled the air with the densest fog we’ve seen. This scene called for an emotional pose to match the surrounding moody environment. I told Joshua to grip my arms firmly enough so that the indenting, strong embrace could be apparently seen. I often tell my client couples to do the same. A deep grip or tight embrace gives the image an unconventionally real sense of emotion.
To capture the above silvery, milky image of Lake Crescent, I set the f-stop to f/11 for depth, ISO to 400 for light, and using spot metering, slightly underexposed at 1/80 for sharpness. In landscape photography, as the photographer, you can’t be afraid to use high f-stop rages. Often times I will take the same photo several times, but adjust the f-stop for each shot anywhere from f/5.6 to f/22. When you view these shots, side-by-side, you’ll be able to judge which f-stop gives the most clarity and depth of field to your landscape scene.
Rain, in most cases, is unwanted on a wedding day. However, the above image shows how you can use a seemingly bad thing to your advantage. After this storm passed, I immediately asked my couple to come outside for a few more shots before the sun set. Placing them near the airplane, I asked them to dance, and positioned myself in a way as to capture their reflection on the freshly wet pavement.
The real trick to this reflection image happened in Adobe Lightroom. Using the local adjustment tool, I removed all contrast, lightened the shadows and slightly brought up the highlights from the pavement below the bride and groom. Because of these small adjustments, their reflection became fully visible, and added a depth to this picture that would not have been seen otherwise.
Photo Credit: Brea Marie Lefler
Eastlyn Bright Tolle is an artistic writing, wedding, engagement, individual portrait and adventure landscape photographer based in Dayton, Ohio of the United States, but available worldwide.
“Photography allows me to share my perspective with others in a way that not only captures what a moment looked like, but also what it felt like. Being able to freeze a physical moment and make it tangible, to me, is a gift.” – Eastlyn
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