Photographers. You just can’t please us. We’re nut-jobs, absolute, certified wackos.
Yesterday was an utterly perfect, not-a-cloud-in-the-sky, mild, spring-like day. Leah and I drove up to the Olympic Mountains to go for a hike, and do you know what (admittedly) ridiculous thought I had in my head? “This day is boring,” I caught myself thinking. “The sky needs some clouds.”
Lock me up in an institution. Throw away the key. I should not be allowed out in a society of normal people. One minute I’m griping that all it does is rain here in the Pacific Northwest. Finally the sun comes out and I have the audacity to wish for something else. And WHY do I wish for something else? Because I see a beautiful, snow-covered peak off in the distance and I can envision a photographic composition, but the scene needs a cloud in the upper right corner.
Is that sick, or what?
***
Generally when I’m planning a hiking trip, I have one simple rule of thumb that works pretty well for where I live: If it’s cloudy or raining, I seek out a low elevation trail in the forest (overcast light is my friend if I'm photographing in the trees.) If it’s clear and sunny, I go up high in the mountains, or out to the ocean.
Yesterday, on that too-clear day, I would normally have headed to the high country, but Leah cast a strong vote to hike a trail that she dearly loves that is down in the Olympic National Forest. (Married Men: Please join me in saying those two words that make for tranquility on the homefront: “Yes Dear!”
Say it again with me Brothers: “YES DEAR!”
I was happy to have Leah’s good company on that too-perfect day, on that down-in-the-trees trail. There was a warm breeze blowing on us. The sun did filter beautifully through the forest. And by looking carefully, I saw that there were a few fleeting moments when the sunlight was not harsh and contrasty as I feared, but soft and amazing--when the presence of sunlight made for photographs that were actually better than I would have found on an overcast day.
Oh Brothers Who Art Married! I say unto you: There is Mighty Power in the words “YES DEAR.”
