One of my favorite ways to challenge myself is to shoot intimate and abstract landscapes. Catching whispering and fleeting light, whether that be in ice, water, wood, rocks or any other number of things. When the light is poor for more traditional landscapes, that is often the perfect time to slow down, get closer and open your eyes to the small details. In 'Liquid Gold', the way the ripples of water warped the light caught my eye.
There had been a dumping of snow, so I decided to go take a hike around my favorite local canyon. But the weather was overcast, which created extremely flat and boring light in the snowy forest. So instead of leaving, I simply enjoyed being there, and looked for different opportunities. One of the biggest turning points in my photography was learning to let the light dictate which scenes I look for. Be flexible and have an open mind, and the images will come to you.
This is a really old and weathered piece of driftwood. In the past I had used it as a foreground for more grand landscapes, but on this visit I decided to take a different approach and compose an image solely of the wood. The golden hour side light helped to accentuate the lines, with the shadows from a nearby tree creating a nice balance of light and dark.
I learned a lot creating these images. Beauty is everywhere, if you're willing to see it!