I went out photographing yesterday, and a nice thing happened. But before I get to that...
...On November 1st I was driving into town on a brilliant sunny day. The sky was very active: lots of clouds of various types rearranging themselves with the appearance of urgency. But lots of blue sky too, and the kind of brilliant, intense sunshine we get on cold days. As I crested the top of the big long hill leading down to the little Mennonite-owned grocery story, I saw a wall of opaque gray shrouding the land up to the north of me, from west to east, enveloping the town of Penn Yan where I was headed.
For one thing, it was a beautiful sight. I've deliberately given up trying to photograph particularly volatile weather here; you just can't capture fast-changing conditions and the magic of different things happening all at once in different directions. But boy, do I ever enjoy it. When I saw that wall of gray streaming across from the West, I thought, "it's got to be raining in town."
But no. It was snowing in town. A furious snow squall of the sort we get around here once in a while. Dense clouds of giant flakes so whipped up by the roiling wind that they don't seem to be falling downward at all. Visibility shuts down and it gets tough to see. One football field away, all you could make out of cars or the road were floating pairs of tiny headlights, two little dots of light amid nothing but gray. The squall was intense enough that the locals talked about it afterwards, in casual encounters around town—in the line at the bank, at the Post Office, or at the little mainstream grocery store. "Did you see how hard it snowed?" I went into the plumbing supply place, in one of those pole-barn warehouse-type structures with no windows, and encountered a friend, and we talked a while. When I emerged from the store the snow squalls were gone, having moved on to the East.
The temperature was above freezing, but the grass was covered with that light, lumpy snow that looks a lot like like cake frosting, so white it was almost glittering in the sunlight, which had returned as quickly as it departed. Next stop was the gas station, to check the tires. When working on your tires, you keep your head down, bending over, screwing and unscrewing the little stem caps* and holding the hose to the tire valve till your back starts to...um, tire. You don't tend to look up or pay attention to much else.
And after the time I took to do that, I looked up, and all the snow was gone, as if it had never been there.
First snow of the season.
A picture for the taking
So here's what happened yesterday. On Sunday I found myself coming home from Geneva, driving up the hill shown in this post, carefully passing one Mennonite buggy after another (they go visiting on Sundays). It was just after sundown on a crisp day. At the top of the hill there's a small graveyard of the sort that dot older areas of the country, most of the graves a century old and more. Glancing over, I flashed past a dramatic picture—a line of headstones silhouetted on the horizon line, against the dying brightness of the clear Western sky. I thought, there's one. Right there.
I didn't have the camera on board. But I noted the time, 5:30, and thought, I'll need a clear day.
Usually you can't do this. Too much can change; sights, even from exactly the same vantage point, wink into perfection and disappear, whether quickly or slowly. The physical world is a river that looks like it's staying the same but actually is never the same. Jay Maisel, one of the most successful professional photographers in America, certainly in his era and probably "of all time," says, "Never say you’re going back—shoot it now!" (All photographers should be issued a couple of Jay Maisel books when they buy a decent camera or get into photography.)
But yesterday it was a carbon-copy day, same weather and light as the day before. My thought was, naw, that never works. But it nagged at me, so at about 4:45 I set out.
I didn't have high hopes. First there's Jay's "shoot it now!" ringing in my ears. And I didn't know if the shot was actually there from the road; what if the best view was from off the road? I don't like to trespass. Or what it it was only there from the road? Almost as bad. What if the elements weren't actually visible at once from one standpoint? That happens with me sometimes—what I think is one view is actually an amalgam of the succession of visuals from the fast-moving car, melded into one in my mind's eye. (Using AI—authentic intelligence.) Being a little self-protectively pessimistic, I gave myself a 15% chance of success.
But half the battle is being there. I drove past, turned around, pulled over as far as I could without pitching into the ditch, put the flashers on, and there it was. Just as I had seen it the day before. A picture for the taking. I set up the tripod, climbed to the other side of the roadside ditch, looked at the scene with the camera to see just where I should be standing and where the right view was, clamped it to the tripod, and then took a dozen shots with minor framing and exposure variations.
Got it! FWIW.
It'll be a while before I download that card, but when I do, I'll be sure to upload that shot to Flickr so you can see it. I'll call your attention to it when I do.
This experience isn't a contradiction of Jay Maisel's rule, by the way. His words are still words to live by. But it's nice to know that even though you shouldn't say you're going back, sometimes you can.
Mike
*You're going to laugh, but due to my "reviewer nature" I have a favorite kind of stem cap.
Original contents copyright 2023 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)
Featured Comments from:
Rob Griffin: " Sounds like a really good example of being prepared to be lucky! You were indeed lucky that the image you saw repeated itself 24 hours later, but you were prepared and made yourself available to be lucky. Can't wait to see the photo!"
Hugh Lovell: "I've been trying to build the habit of getting up very early Saturday mornings, skipping my walk, and driving to a place I've not been to before or been very often. Few people, little traffic and interesting light (SF Bay area dweller). Mixed success; best results so far were photos of the SF Bay bridge with pre-sunrise behind it (taken from Rincon Park, SF), which was beautifully enhanced by several flights of California brown pelicans flowing through. Will continue to work this practice."
Set up the tripod, eh? Good move! :-)
Posted by: Sal Santamaura | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 04:22 PM
Curiously, spotting potential photographs from a moving car never worked for me. Every time I pulled over and got out of the car, the envisioned composition fell apart. Not only because of obstructions which I didn't notice, but most importantly the perspective is never as perceived from the car! This is kind of odd and it doesn't happen to me when I'm walking. Maybe my vision is focussed further into the distance while driving, whereas I rather use peripheral vision while walking?
I always walk when I'm out taking pictures, and my preferred focal length is somewhere between 20mm-e and 40mm-e, matching peripheral vision.
Posted by: Thomas Rink | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 04:42 PM
Hey Mike, "never say you're going back" might not be a contradiction of Jay's saying, but the other saying he used quite a bit was "Carry the damn camera!" If I remember correctly, both "It's Not About the F-Stop" and "Light, Gesture and Color" both contain spreads where he admonishes his assistants to carry the damn thing and shows them what he shot when they thought there was nothing to shoot. Jay is very much one of my heroes.
Posted by: Richard Glover | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 06:08 PM
Fantastic. I'm glad you could capture the scene,and I hope it is as good as you remembered. This example reminds me that I need to resurrect my Fuji X-E1, charge it,and keep it in my car. The light here changes minute by minute.
Posted by: Kodachromeguy | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 07:01 PM
Now I’m creeped out, it clicked on your link to see what your favorite valve stem cap could be and Amazon suggested shipping them to my ex girlfriend. She does order from them regularly and probably has a prime membership which I don’t having only ever bought a couple of things from them as I do my best to support local businesses. And I never have bought anything using her address. So much for avoiding AI
Posted by: Terry Letton | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 08:37 PM
The valve covers. Out of stock at Amazon (for me).
On sale! Here: https://workhorseautomotive.net/product/replacement-valve-stem-caps-50pck/
I never knew these existed. But todays mission is to find some that I can get sent to Australia. You salesman you Mike.
Posted by: Kye Wood | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 08:59 PM
For years when I spotted a scene while driving and stopped, the photo never turned out as well as the one in my head. Then one day I bought myself grey coloured sunglasses instead of tinted ones. The more accurate colour rendering of the surroundings helped a lot.
Posted by: Robert Roaldi | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 09:31 PM
One issue I find with seeing images from the car is that looking through the windshield, you have a telephoto (cropping) effect. So for that beautiful thing you just saw, you need a long lens- which you may not have with you.
I look forward to seeing your final image!
Posted by: Mark Sampson | Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 10:37 PM
You didn't have your camera with you?! Mike! I always(!) carry a camera with me for just this reason. It may not always be my big Nikon or Pentax, but Olympus E-PLxs fit nicely in my bag, along with my phone, wallet and shopping bags etc. Ya gotta have a camera with you. Even if it's not the highest spec, at least you'll get that shot. You can't/won't go back.
Posted by: Peter | Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 06:52 AM
Whenever I've bought a new camera, the previous model is relegated to "beater" status. Ironically, it is after I stop babying it that it becomes the tool it was meant to be and it usually produces good images at a higher rate that the "better" model that replaced it.
My alpha kit is now 2 Fujifilm X-T3 bodies, but my X-T2 now lives in my car. No excuses, always have a proper camera. Some of my best images in the last year are from that old (in digital terms) X-T2 just because it was available when that perfect picture appeared in front of me. I guess to paraphrase, f/8 (year old camera) and be there.
Also, one more vote for those not in possession of them... get those Jay Maisel books. I can't tell you how many times that I've mentally screamed at myself... "Shoot it now!", just one of the terrific and easily digestible lessons from Jay.
Posted by: Albert Smith | Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 10:19 AM
“ I didn't have the camera on board.”
Bull. You had your iPhone, didn’t you?
The Online PHOTOGRAPHER.
[I tend to see the way the camera sees. (YMMV.) So if I see a picture that I visualize as being "for" my B&W camera, I wouldn't take it with any other camera, except maybe as a way of notetaking. Mostly I don't bother as it's not worth the trouble. --Mike]
Posted by: Kenneth Tanaka | Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 10:20 AM
I am currently going through a similar process that the current crises in LA may help with.
Driving home, on the transition from the EB 105 to the NB 710, from the flyover you get a great view of downtown LA with the hollywood sign in the background.
Since this is on the overpass, it is obviously not safe to stop and take a picture. However, with the closure of the 10 freeway, traffic backs up on the overpass and I crawl along. On a clear day after a rain I should have enough time to snap a few images from the car.
I hope.
Posted by: KeithB | Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 02:41 PM
Mike wrote, "It'll be a while before I download that card ... "
What could possibly go wrong?
Lose the card.
Damage the card.
Write over the data on the card.
Format the card.
Forget about the images on the card.
The image was important enough to make a special trip to capture it but not important enough to spend a few minutes securing it?
Posted by: Speed | Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 03:27 PM
You've often said that your Sigma was used similarly to a view camera. If that's the case, Jay's advice isn't quite as applicable. Shooting NOW! with a view camera falls somewhere between difficult and impossible on the spectrum of feasibility.
What you did is much more akin to how Ben Horne, one of my favorite contemporary photographers, operates for most of his work. If you watch his YouTube videos, you'll see that he'll have his camera set up for hours waiting for light, wind, etc. to work in his favor to fulfill a vision that he found while out scouting (usually without a camera).
I love Jay's work and advice but it's still just one approach. There are lots of ways to make good photos.
Posted by: Christopher J May | Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 04:24 PM
"Shoot it now!"
What a piece of wisdom!
Reminds me of Paolo Coelho, whom I have never read, and I have reasons.
Of course it is a good piece of advice, but if you cannot follow it, go ahead and try another time!
Posted by: Anton Wilhelm Stolzing | Thursday, 16 November 2023 at 10:39 AM
You can't mean to say that you don't download the pictures to your computer and have a look as soon as you come home?!? Especially in a situation when you have a high confidence that you GOT IT. Or is this a subconscious type of defense mechanism---as long as you don't look you can still believe you have the perfect shot, while as if you look and it turns out to be a dud, well then, that turns into a disappointment.
Or do you perhaps want the memory to fade somewhat so that you can judge the image on its own merits and not in immediate comparison to what you remembered the scene to be?
Posted by: Håkan Andersson | Thursday, 16 November 2023 at 04:05 PM
A whole article about a picture without showing it, seems weird for a blog putatively about photography.
Posted by: KAEMU | Thursday, 16 November 2023 at 06:40 PM