Light! Or the lack of it: why is it important?

Do you remember the last time you witnessed this strange phenomenon? If I recall, it's called the Sun and I'm sure we all miss it after the last week or so. As a photographer, light is a critical ingredient to creating an image that has some impact or atmosphere.

Highlights and shadows can lift a nicely composed image from a 'snap' type shot, to a pretty special capture. If this had been a grey morning as we've had for seemingly the last few months (I might be exaggerating a little there), then I suspect that I wouldn't have even pointed the lens in that direction. On the morning I took this, however, the sun lit up mist on the River Axe, creating a sense of mystery, but the person walking along the beach lifted this scene from a snap, to an image I really like. Seemingly, photography is like cooking: the right ingredients and the final result is more than the sum of its component parts.

I'm sure we'll see that bright object in the sky again soon, but it is a reminder that there is a sun up there and it won't always be 50 shades of grey when we draw the curtains first thing. It is also bright and shiny and hopefully cheerful.

Axmouth - Early One Morning