Scott Photo Friday: Sunrise Over Lake of the Arbuckles

Ren and I were camping at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area (Sulpher, OK, area) and our campsite was right on the Lake of the Arbuckles. I woke up just before sunrise and there was a heavy fog over the lake. I paused just long enough to put my shoes on and grabbed my camera. Moments like these don't happen nearly as often as I would like, and they don't last long. Fifteen minutes later the sun cleared the horizon, and the light was entirely different and far less interesting.

You have to be ready to catch these moments when they happen. If you hesitate you will miss the shot. A few weeks ago Ren and I were driving down a country road in Missouri when we topped a hill and there was a band of mist rising from a creek, and the sun was just rising while the rays were filtered through the trees and hitting the mist; the effect was amazing. Ren was driving and I told her to turn around. It couldn't have been two minutes before we were back to the spot, but the effect was gone. Landscape photography is like that.

You cannot control when all the elements will come together. The best you can do is get out to amazing places as often as possible, and give yourself as many chances as possible to get the shot. There is certainly an element of luck, but if you are not out there ready to take the shot, you will never have the chance to get lucky. The lazy man has no luck.