Landscape Photography Magazine

Do you always plan your photographic expeditions or allow yourself to take advantage of unexpected opportunities? David Hay expresses his thoughts and experiences

Many photographers put a lot of planning into their photographic outings. They check the long-range weather forecast for the weekend, identify locations on Google maps, check the sun positions on their Photographers Ephemeris application, then set the alarm clock and head off on their mission.

I admire this level of organisation but, for me photography, is a more relaxing and unpredictable hobby. I just head out when the light looks promising. If I come to a fork in the road I look to see in which direction the light looks best and head that way. Although I might have a general target, often I do not get that far as I keep stopping to take pictures on the way. But this is the point for me, to come back with good photographs of the most interesting things I have seen that day, not just to get to a fixed location.

This flexibility has led me to many unplanned photographic locations. Usually I am just drawn to the way the…