No More Naps

This situation is kind of funny and indicative. Currently, I’m on a multi-day photography trip in Austria’s easternmost national park. To deliver this article on time, I have to work on it during my stay here. Although I’m honored and excited to write an article for Nature Photographers Network, I have to admit it’s a little tough because I would much rather be exploring and taking pictures in the national park right now. A few years back, this would have been quite easy for me. At the moment, it’s around noon, the skies are clear, the sun is high up, and the light is pretty harsh. I’ve learned that it’s much easier to create appealing images by avoiding this kind of light.

So, right now, as I sit here, it’s probably the time of day when most nature photographers take a nap or work on an article. But nowadays, I can hardly find time to rest because I’ve also become very attracted to hard sunlight and the mesmerizing scenery and promising opportunities these conditions can offer.

I still remember very well when I started taking pictures. During my first few little adventures, the skies were always overcast, and the sun wasn’t shining. I complained about that because I wished for “beautiful” weather and “good” conditions. It took me some time to realize that harsh sun makes creating compelling photographs much harder. But as I mentioned, today I see things differently once more. Besides, there’s hardly any “bad” or “good” weather. Climate change should have taught us to embrace rain, and I’m very grateful that nature photography has taught me to appreciate all kinds of conditions. Now, I’m also eager to shoot around midday under sunny skies.

In my opinion, taking decent images in hard light is way more challenging than it is on cloudy days or in soft light. I usually return with only a few images, but the effort can definitely pay off. I think the results can be much more exciting and mesmerizing. Besides, such photographs are rarer and can be quite surprising.

Whenever it makes sense to me and it’s possible, I prefer shooting toward the light instead of having the sun behind me. I also follow this approach in midday light. Nevertheless, for me, when it comes to wide-angle landscape photography, harsh light is not my first choice, especially when I look toward the sun. The magic of hard light often lies in small, intimate scenes. The harder the light gets, the smaller the scene in my frame gets. So, most of the time, I grab my macro or telephoto lens under these circumstances. But, of course, there are always exceptions, like photographing a sun star in the woods or a backlit bird in its habitat, for example.

A very high dynamic range is often seen as an issue in photography, and, of course, it can be. But the fact that high contrasts can appear even more pronounced in-camera than they do to the naked eye — combined with the human ability to adapt to these conditions — can result in extraordinary photographs. Freeing oneself from the aspiration that all parts of an image must show texture, and cannot be completely white or black, can be quite rewarding.

The significant difference in brightness between the very bright and the very dark parts of such a setting helps to visually separate them. Both parts may exist on the same object and close together, like on water surfaces, for example, but they can also be apart and on different elements, like a sunlit animal in front of a shady backdrop.

Another benefit of hard light is that it reflects from a wide range of natural objects and surfaces. This means the light can actually come from different directions. The main element I’m personally looking for is water. It can be found rather easily out there, and its varied surface movements can provide many different light situations and reflection patterns, mostly in small areas. The entire surface of a lake at noon can be rather boring. But as soon as you start to look closer at the movement in narrow frames — and the ways it changes with the wind, the waves, and your position relative to the sun — you’ll discover mesmerizing textures.

 
A wide range of other surfaces can also create lovely reflections, such as those on leaves, insect wings, ice, and wet rocks or wood. Some of them can also refract the light into different colors and patterns. These include water droplets, dragonfly wings, spider webs, and dust particles or pollen on the water.

Besides that, nature offers numerous transparent structures that are revealed when light pierces through them, such as insect wings, feathers, and leaves. Some, like dragonfly wings, are very transparent. Others, like bird wings or larger leaves, need very hard light to bring out their hidden colors and patterns. For example, if you’re creating an image that uses blurry foreground vegetation to cover parts of the scene, bright light will help bring out all the colors in the leaves. Water is another example. It lightens up and reveals hidden depths as soon as it’s flooded by hard sunlight, which can perfectly bring out the colors of lakes and rivers.

Aside from the fascinating patterns, structures, and light displays waiting to be discovered, photographing in these kinds of conditions also pays off in terms of equipment and technique. The bright light during a sunny day will result in very fast shutter speeds. You won’t have to carry your tripod, and you won’t have to worry about blurry images due to movement or a lack of depth of field. Just yesterday, I took an image of a super-fast little sparrow, trying to bring out the colors in its wing feathers while shooting almost directly into the hard sun. The settings were ISO 250, f/14, and 1/5000 sec.

So, a longer or macro lens and the camera body are all you’ll need. And since I really don’t like to be busy handling my equipment, going out with just my camera in hand is delightful and relaxing.

Every now and then, under the bright sun, I go for white, high-key photographs. But most of the time, I’m mainly thrilled by the little bits of magic in the brighter parts of the scenery. This means that the majority of these images are rather dark, and large parts of the pictures are often just black. This is to avoid overexposing the alluring light and to lead the viewer’s attention to the main elements. This also means the shutter speeds will be very fast and easy to handle. To bring out these interesting high contrasts, inconvenient techniques like HDR are unnecessary and often counterproductive. The less time you spend handling your gear or behind your computer, the more time you can spend exploring, experimenting, developing, and enjoying authentic nature photography in the field. All the images in this article are simple handheld photographs without the use of any special equipment, techniques, or artificial light. For your benefit, you can also follow this approach when you simply cannot be there during the early morning or late evening hours due to restrictions or longer hikes.

So, all in all, I definitely recommend paying close attention to smaller scenes, high contrasts, reflections, and glittering light around midday or on sunny days. But, in terms of compositions, perspectives, subjects, and the use of sunlight, I won’t give many tips on how to create an image. I think this is highly subjective; even more, it has to be a creative process. Creativity is the opposite of following photographic traditions or “rules.” Enjoy!

About the Author

Picture of Rupert Kogler

Rupert Kogler

Based in Austria, nature led Rupert Kogler to photography. Not the other way around. Experiencing untouched places always touched him deeply and in nature photography he finally found the tool which allows him to not just feel this connection but to rather find his place out there. Now this is his way to gather enriching moments for a valuable existence on the one hand and, more relevant, on the other hand photography became Ruperts most important communication tool to convey the importance of intact nature to a wide audience and to show its grace. The aspect of communicating nature is undoubtedly achieved exclusively through authentic and honest photographs of unaffected nature without any scene or image manipulation. Beside that, he also works as an Austrian national park ranger and can thus further express his ambitions, especially towards future generations.
Share the Post:

Go Deeper with Nature Vision Magazine

Enjoy this article? Nature Vision Magazine offers even more in-depth explorations of nature photography, with exclusive content, stunning imagery, and insights from leading professionals. Subscribe today for a richer experience!

Related Posts

Minimalism Through High-Key Photography

Minimalism in photography isn’t about having less; it’s about revealing more by removing what are, in my opinion, distractions. It’s about creating space: space for the subject to breathe, and space for the viewer to pause and feel. In the following section, I’ll share a few practical tips I often use to bring simplicity into my work. They’re not strict rules, as the creative mind doesn’t fit in a box or, in terms of photography, a grid, but guiding ideas to help you focus on what matters in an image. Think of them as suggestions, things that work for me but might not necessarily work for you. This is simply my perspective. A vision. Minimalistic. Imaginative. Two-dimensional.

No More Naps

Aside from the fascinating patterns, structures, and light displays waiting to be discovered, photographing in these kinds of conditions also pays off in terms of equipment and technique. The bright light during a sunny day will result in very fast shutter speeds.