Landscape Photography Magazine

“When seeking to make great nature images, nothing beats simple time in the field. Magical moments do not happen that often, and you increase your chances of capturing them if you are out there as Ian Plant explains”

Long days in the field often can be frustrating. Sometimes, the hits keep on rolling, with one great shot coming after another. Usually, however, this is not the case. Days or even weeks can go by without anything remarkable happening. Certainly, good photographs can be made no matter how challenging or lackluster the conditions, but good is not really what we are after. What we want is to make exceptional images, but exceptional does not happen all that often; which, after all, is entirely the point.

The heart of the matter is this: when seeking to make great nature images, nothing beats simple time in the field. Magical moments do not happen that often, and you increase your chances of capturing them if you are out there, rather than somewhere less conducive to image making, such as behind your computer, in front of the television, or sipping mojitos at the bar. Persistence pays off.

During a late spring trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, persistence was about all I had. A seemingly endless parade of blindingly sunny days severely limited my shooting options, and was unlikely to yield the…