Many people do not realize that what makes a photograph beautiful or interesting is not only the quality of the subject matter, but more importantly the quality of the light that the subject was photographed in. The quality of light creates the strongest element of mood contained in a photograph. You can take the same scene or place and photograph it in many different types of light and evoke completely different emotions from your viewers!
I recently made two trips to Smith Rock in Terrebonne, Oregon to do some rock climbing. The trips were only days apart, but the weather couldn't have been more drastically contrasting! The first trip was sunny and about 60 degrees, which was absolutely amazing for mid-January rock climbing! The second trip was below freezing temperatures, and eerily foggy.
Here are two different shots I took (both at Smith Rock) to illustrate the way that light brings mood to a photograph and completely changes the effect a place can have on its viewers.
