Bite-Size Blog Post #86 - Grimspound

26 Aug

A Safe Bet?

In yesterday’s blog I wrote about my slight disappointment with the heather around Birch Tor. It wasn’t so much that there wasn’t much of it, but that there wasn’t any at all! Well, at least not where I wanted it anyway.

While I was standing on Birch Tor, making the most of the view I did have, I looked across towards Hookney Tor and Grimspound. It reminded me of the wonderful photographs I captured there last year as part of my heather project, so I made a mental note to return.

Returning to Grimspound was like visiting an old friend. I knew the location, I knew the composition and, in a way, I felt safe there.

But with that familiarity comes a problem.

As I stood in exactly the same spot I had stood in for the previous two years, preparing to capture the same composition once again, I started to question why I was taking the photograph. Were the conditions better than on my previous visits? Was the heather looking better?

The answer to both questions was no.

So, is taking the same photograph problematic for a photographer?

Yes and no.

Yes, because as photographers we should push ourselves creatively. We should explore our local landscapes, but also push our creative boundaries, even when we are somewhere we know well. It is very easy to fall back on a familiar composition simply because we know it works.

And no, because sometimes a composition just works. There is still a lot of joy to be had from standing in the same place you stood last year and taking the same photograph, perhaps in slightly different conditions.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, a trip out with the camera can sometimes be challenging and even disappointing from a photographic point of view. But what is never disappointing is the experience of being outdoors.

Breathing in the fresh air, listening to the birds and simply soaking up the view. Those moments are restorative, and sometimes the photography has to come second.

I’ll be back to Grimspound.

Maybe I’ll take the same composition again. But one thing is for sure, I’ll love doing it.