i’ve had the pleasure of re-visiting some of our wonderful national parks in the west over the course of the last few months: death valley national park and parts of olympic national park. on both occasions, i noticed something peculiar: i saw both locations completely differently the second time around. on my first trip to death valley, i noticed the size of the valley, areas almost completely devoid of color - or at least devoid of what most humans classify as interesting color. it felt and looked like a desert in some of the scenes in the star wars movies. (it was the setting for a number of desert scenes in the star wars movies) i visited rialto beach for the first time a couple of years ago and was amazed at the larger things - the bigger scene of it all: sea stacks, particularly the tallest one on the north end of the beach grabbed my attention and would not let go. yet, on these latest trips, i “saw” completely different landscapes. instead of noticing the lack of colors in death valley, i noticed how much color there was. instead of noticing the lack of any life, i noticed just how much and how diverse the life was. rialto beach was so completely full of textures, from the forest next to the beach to the rocks that comprise the beach to the driftwood littering the beach, and even including the sea stacks and the trees growing on them.

it’s amazing how the visual stimulation changes for me each time i re-visit a location. some may say it’s due, at least in part, to my maturation as a photographer and artist. others may rightfully counter it’s due in large part to the alarming regression of artistic maturity. no matter what your thoughts may be, i’m still amazed at the things i “see” upon re-visiting a location - things i never saw the first time i visited.

the thing is, as we get more familiar with a location, we get more intimately familiar with the location!

and this, my friend, is the key: show me a picture of what a location “says” to you. my friend paul recently told me of a trip to saguaro national park and how amazed he was at the saguaro cactuses. i asked him why the cactuses stood out to him so much. he explained why, and i said, “now take a picture of that!”

people often ask, “how can i tell a story in a landscape photograph?” the answer? get to know the landscape. explore things that you find interesting and intriguing. tell me that story of the landscape and why and how it amazes you. tell me about your “saguaro”. if you want deeper, more meaningful images of a landscape or a subject, get to know the landscape or the subject deeper.

do you remember the pictures you had taken in school? school picture day: the worst day of the year! i had to wear a clip-on tie the entire day while making sure my hair didn’t mysteriously morph out of its freshly cut bowl shape into something even slightly resembling “coolness”. then some stranger sits you on a spinning stool, tells you to face a certain direction, smile, and voila! in mere seconds, you have one of the set of photos that will, for the rest of your life, be the talking (and laughing) point of your parents’ conversations with friends.

contrast that with your wedding photos. the photographer spent all day (or even multiple days) with you. they got to know you. they caught you in candid moments of interaction with friends and family. these pictures - these were good pictures! as someone who deplores having his picture taken, my wedding photos of me didn’t suck. and that’s as big of a compliment as a picture of me can receive.

why the difference?

at this point, you know the answer. a good portrait photographer gets to know the subject(s). a good portrait photographer gets the subject(s) to feel comfortable in front of the camera. a school picture day photographer? they come in, have two hundred kids to photograph and have to make sure the kids with a cold don’t have snot running out of their nose. they can’t move on to the next kid fast enough.

the natural world is no different. wham, bam, thank you ma’am images can make a visual impact on the viewer, but that impact is oftentimes short lived. there is no real connection between the photographer and the subject. connect, connect, connect as best you can. get to know your subject. visit it multiple times. what’s its name? why is that its name? what conditions does it prefer? in what areas does it exist? there are so many ways to connect with your subject, though it takes time and a bit of work on your part.

in the end - the extra time is worth it. getting to know your subject is worth it. spending more than a fleeting moment in good light with the scene is worth it. your images will be deeper. they’ll tell the story of the place, or the subject.

next time you suggest a place to photograph to someone, and they say, “naaah, i’ve already been there.” reply with, “exactly!" and tell them to go anyway.