Nikon Digital Photography Talk

Taking pictures of the same place over and over

I remember I once went to visit a good friend of mine who happens to live in Rincon, Puerto Rico. The town is on the west side of the island and fondly named ”The town of the beautiful sunsets”. He showed me endless slide pictures of beautiful sunsets he mostly shoots with a Nikon N90s and now he combines a mix of both, analog and digital photography with his trusty Nikon D70s and recently a Nikon D200. We both agree, going only once to any given place is not enough. I see and tendency or trend over the web and friends of trying to improve a picture via software. A picture that in my personal opinion and taste should be going straight to the trash bin regardless if it is a slide or digital picture capture.

I know that if the weather is not on our favor during a quick trip to say the Great Canyon we’ll have no choice. But if I have the chance to take pictures in my area and they didn’t turn out good, I rather spend my time trying to organize and make another trip to the same spot rather than being in front of my computer trying to ”make a picture”. When I say in ”my area” I mean my local park or trail or a 6 hours long drive. Photography is about perseverance most of all and many times we have to deal with the fact of going back home empty handed.

Is it worth going to the same spot more than once?

My answer from my point of view and experience is a big yes. Going back to the same place to take pictures usually yields very positive results. We have the chance to find different lighting conditions, even our photography mood can be different. Patience is a virtue they say, and it is very important in photography. I did the same when I was in Puerto Rico, thru photography I went places I never thought I was going to go to, if I didn’t bring what I was expecting, I simply went back a few weeks later. Let me tell you this, there is no such thing as a bad day to go out and take pictures. Make the best out of each particular pictures day, rainy, snowy, overcast etc. There is no advantage on what is equal. My friend is right now enjoying beautiful sunsets and palm trees. I am taking my photography to a 15 degrees F level. I enjoy and miss the sunsets, he enjoys and misses my snow yet we manage to get out as much as we can to take pictures. A picture is like a painting, it is unique even if the place has been photographed a thousand times. If it weren’t because my friend goes sunset hunting at least 4 days a week, he wouldn’t have his beautiful sunset picture library.
The following pictures below, are from a place I frequent very often. I have been there is my car, my bicycle, hiking and every time there is something interesting to come back home with. There is something very nice to photograph, or perhaps we see things much more carefully and make beauty evident thru our lens and mood.

All pictures with Nikon D200, Nikkor 17-55 AF-S, Nikkor 35mm AFD F/2, Sigma 300mm F/2.8