“Happy Accidents”

“There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.” ~ Bob Ross

This way of thinking salvaged my whole day.

 I thought I had made a mistake while photographing some waterfalls the other day. I had just finished creating a few images with large, almost black,  boulders as the main subject. I was happy with the images and had moved on to frame up a new subject. This new image had some dark rocks on the left-hand side of the frame and the water rushing through the left two-thirds. I thought I was on to some nice fine art/negative space image with this one. After the first exposure, the rocks were way too dark for my liking, so I went for a more prolonged exposure to get better detail in the rock. Well, this is where I made my “mistake”. I had set the shutter speed too long, but by the time I realized what I had done, I had already tripped the shutter. And while the image was technically “overexposed,” I liked it. The water had become very white with almost no texture at all. And the contrast between the dark rock and the “overexposed” water was (in my opinion) fantastic. 

Armed with the knowledge from my recent “mistake,” I returned to my original set of rocks to reshoot my composition with the darker and larger rocks. This time, I isolated a single boulder that seemed to have some battle scars. A large chunk had broken off at the front of it, adding some texture and character. It was also poised almost definitely in the rapids, just above a drop-off, almost as if it were rebelling against the current. 

This time, I intentionally exposed it for 3 seconds to really boost the whites of the flowing rapids. This contrast between the dark rock and the flowing river is what gives the image a story: the struggle and the flow of nature.