PREPARE FOR THE LIGHT

There’s not much we can do to change natural light, but we can certainly be ready for it

There are lots of apps for your smartphone and computer that will help predict the weather, the tides, the swell and where the sunlight will be. The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) is a very popular app for previsualising the direction of the light, using satellite maps and graphic overlays.

however, if you’re serious about using light as a compositional element outdoors, you simply have to be prepared to visit a location more than once. Weather predictions are just that and there are no guarantees that the weather or the light on your subject will be quite as you desire – and there’s something nice about that!

Far left TIME OF DAY Steam from the geysers is only visible when the surrounding air is cold, so to capture compositions containing the wafts of steam requires planning

Left TIME OF YEAR Waterfalls off Veda Island in Antarctica happen in summer when the snow melts. Capturing the light to highlight them relies on good weather – and to be honest, that’s unpredictable in many places