Beautiful Places

Photo processed in Photoshop CS5, HDR Pro using three exposures.

Scott Kelby, author and Photoshop guru, asserted in a Livonia, MI seminar last week that if you want to take beautiful pictures you must take your camera to beautiful places. His implication – You must travel to iconic places such as, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon, Smoky Mountains or any of the several "arches parks" in Utah to find outstanding photos.
I take great exception to that argument.

First, look for the beautiful light, it's usually at dawn or at dusk, although every now and again you can find interesting light at mid-day. Next, identify what it was that moved you to point your camera – what made you say, "WOW?"

You will find that you are always in a beautiful place.

These three photos were taken within about ten minutes overlooking the White River delta at Montague, MI. The beautiful light was, of course, the impending sunrise. The WOW factor was the spectacular color. The reflections on the water provided a magnificent texture. The cloud patterns repeated in the reflections provided an interesting foreground, complete with middle and background all within a framework of thirds (the requisite pattern for a successful landscape photo).

Click on any of the three photos to see a larger image.