This scene was found while scouting the Palouse for new locations. Initially, I was frustrated because I could not find a worthy foreground subject for the amazing sky.  In the direction Dan (my tour partner) was shooting, the sky was not near as interesting.  He was shooting with a long lens and isolating his subject.  I was drawn to the wide angle opportunity because of the tremendous sky.  Then it dawned on me, THE SKY IS THE SUBJECT! I know this, and actually tell people this all the time, however, I too can become sidetracked by my expectations. I didn’t need a killer foreground because the sky was so good.  Don’t get me wrong, I would have preferred it, however, this foreground was all I had and it was my job to make something of it. I liken this unto being out for a drive without your camera and you come across a killer scene with cherry light.  What do you do?  Drive on, or shoot it with the iPhone in your pocket?  Well, if the best camera at that moment is the iPhone and its the only one you have?  I’d encourage you to shoot it.  That is what I did with this scene in Italy.  

Again, we were scouting and running on a schedule.  I purposefully left gear in the car so we would stay on task.  All I had was the iPhone. It turned out to be a favorite of the trip and is hanging on a friends wall in her office.  Someone else has made a painting from it and is winning awards.  I’m glad I had the iPhone to make the capture.

Lets go back to what Dan was shooting to make yet another important point.  Here is Dan’s image, taken within moments of my image with the sky.

He was pointed in the opposite direction and was shooting with his 70-200mm lens as that is his comfort zone.  My point is, you need to shoot what you are attracted to.  Shoot was appeals to you and do not worry about what others are excited about.  Stay focused on and follow your vision.  Dan ended up with a KILLER image and I’m pleased with mine. Trust me, when I see Dan focused and working a scene, it is VERY hard not to run over and see what he is doing because he does it so well.  That said, I have learned to follow my heart, my vision and my instincts.  And then I run over to see what Dan is shooting!  :)   

Clouds in the Palouse are always welcome.  Add clouds to the pastoral, vibrant rolling farm land and you have a perfect combination for landscape photography.  What makes the Palouse even more fun, is to chase cloud shadows as seen is this image.  I liken photographing cloud shadows unto shooting fall reflections.  I recall being with Tony Sweet a number of years ago at hidden lake in the Poconos.  We were both leading groups there when I started throwing rocks into the water to make ripples.  About 20 minutes later, I heard Tony say, “how many more of these can I shoot?  I’ve just blown through three rolls of film!”  We all laughed.  Cloud shadows are just as addictive,  as they roll through your composition the image continually changes and you find yourself firing off far too many shots but having a blast!

We had a great group in the Palouse this year, the images shown were truly amazing and there were many laughs.  The response to what Dan and I do in the Palouse has been so overwhelming, we are doing two back to back trips next year.  We’ve not yet announced the dates and already have 20 people on a “please can I come” list.  If you’re interested in joining us next year, now might be a good time to get on that list as we only have 28 spots between the two tours.

Today, I am sitting in the Towery’s home on Bainbridge Island enjoying the amazing view out of their home.  Today’s image was taken from the Ferry as we made our way over last night.  Dan and I decided to spend two extra days, primarily to shoot Gehry’s “Experience Music Project” building in Seattle.  They Towerys were kind enough to invite us to stay with then and help us do that.  Thanks Bob and Deb!

We are all exhausted today after a wonderful albeit long day yesterday.  

I love to shoot wide angle, I love great skies, and  I love the Palouse. 

Here is another from our pre-tour scouting.  The clouds and their shadows are mesmerizing as they roll through the sculpted fields.  

Steptoe Butte is always magical every time I’ve been there. Tonight was no different and you might say, we found a pot of gold.  At 16mm I was able to capture the entire rainbow!  

The gang arrives tomorrow as we start our tour at dinner time.  Looking forward to spending time with this group!