Haymes Images

© 2009 Tom Haymes

This picture was taken less than an hour after the previous posted image in Big Bend National Park. We stopped at an overlook on our way to dinner after a long day’s hiking and shooting. The atmosphere on top of this mountain was almost claustrophobic. I felt like I was in a giant room when I looked out toward the southwest (the previous picture was taken just to the right of the gap in the cliffs in the distance which is Santa Elena Canyon). I really like how the subtle layers and clouds fade into one another. This was one where the moment really worked.

I posted this shot in part because I wanted to emphasize how important it is to shoot and to shoot a lot. Digital makes that easy (and a lot cheaper than it was in film days). I shot this picture toward the end of a week traveling through West Texas in which I shot over 3000 shots over the course of 5 days. In film days, I probably never shot more than 3000 pictures a year. When I am not on vacation it’s often a struggle to get any shooting in. I got a number of really good shots on this particular day because I was really in a groove that day and things were falling into place visually. I also got lucky with the weather.

Travel photography is especially tricky because you can never stay in one place long enough to get in touch with its moods. A local photographer has a huge advantage in this area. One of the reasons that Ansel Adams was so successful in Yosemite is that he actually lived there a good portion of his life. It’s tough to get in touch with the subtleties of light and shadow in a particular environment in a day or two. Sometimes you get lucky (then again luck favors the prepared).

Did I get the best shots ever of Big Bend? Probably not. However, I am pretty satisfied with my efforts there. I’d like to spend some months living there to see what else I can get out of that environment. However, that’s probably unlikely because, unlike Ansel, photography is not my primary job.