Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that there exist different views to explore other than the plane that we walk on. .  Fall is my favorite time of year – not only for the crisp, cool air – general lack of bugs (those darn mosquitoes are still around in mid-October if you can believe it!!) – but for the 360-degree sensory experience (in every direction) possible from any simple walk in the woods.

I am as guilty as any in making the call to quit for the morning because the light is getting “too harsh.”   Those cursed clear sky days.  If it wasn’t for a final stop in a rather dark, wooded area, and a look upwards – this shot of the light show happening in the canopy would have never happened.  Move outside the wooded area, and there was harsh, clear sky sun placing restrictions on my perceptions of what may make a decent photograph.

I often try to remind myself when I am conjuring up excuses on why certain conditions may not be ideal for some images I want to make, I should be asking this:  What types of images didn’t I think of that will work for conditions like this?

Is a swamp such a negative environment, or can you find rather striking color combinations from a simple leaf surrounded in plant “oils” from decaying vegetation?. .  For every negative, somewhere there is a positive to be found. .  It is all a matter of where, how, and why we want to look for it.