Did you ever have one of those days where you just want to go ride your bike, shoot photos and have a good time with your buddies? Between our “serious” bike trips/shoots, we try to go out and have fun no matter what the conditions are or what the weather looks like, if there is a good light or not. You just skip all the planning ahead. For me these days are as good as the planned ones because it shows how creative and determined you are to get the shot in less than ideal conditions. I love to shoot in these kinds of conditions, even when you are totally wet and cold. I can show how raw and real the nature is. It’s not always about sunshine and golden hour shots. I know it looks good, but sometimes it’s just cliché. I kinda like shooting when there’s bad weather outside and everybody is sitting inside warm and cozy. A lot of magic moments and good photos happened when there weren’t ideal conditions and being outside of our comfort zones felt right. High ISO grain photos or longer shutter speeds when you can show speed. Blurry silhouettes against dark misty forest with a lot less light. You can feel it all coming together and that’s what I like. You have to see a little bit of good in the bad.
I know that the world is full of great photographers and their perfect shots with great lighting and what not. But in my own world, there is no place or time for perfection. When you are deep in the mountains the main thing is safety. Come back home every day in one piece. I wanted to be a perfect photographer with perfect photos when I saw those super 2-3 flashed pictures. After some time I felt like my photos are missing the right moment which you can’t replace with flashes and all the fancy lenses. So I went my own way. Two lenses, one body and pack as light as you can, just keep it simple. Less stuff you have more you can focus to get further into the mountains. I tried it once and I realized there is no need to carry all the gear you have with you. Why take flashes, tripods and all kinds of little stuff that just get in the way. All this opened my eyes and my approach to photography. Think differently, it’s not about perfection, it’s about the journey, the effort and the right moment. I changed my ways in how to use my photo gear and it helped me to get to places where other people will not even think to go.
