photo copyright by Brenda Tharp
One of the great advantages of returning to a place after a year is that you’ve had time to review and reflect on what photographs you made, and what you would like to do differently.
The top of Dochu La, a pass over the mountains in Bhutan, is littered with prayer flags, and 108 stupas, and there is a plethora of photographic opportunities there. Having crossed that pass four times now, I am certain that the best light is soft, diffused, even foggy light. When the sun comes out, there are still photos to make, but the mood of the fog/mist just adds so much to the place.
We were lucky on this trip, we got to the top for some incredibly beautiful scenes of low clouds in the valleys in contrast with the tall dark cypress trees, which made for graphically interesting scenes. The morning sunlight was soft enough to manage in terms of contrast, and about the time it was getting too strong, the clouds moved up and over the pass, engulfing us. Perfect! We turned to other more intimate details of what was there.
The hillside across from the stupas is a visually cluttered mess of prayer flags - strung from every branch, every tree, and while it’s colorful, it’s really messy to try and capture artistic images or the essence of it (see picture below) That provided the challenge for me. I walked around, looking for ways to express the essence of all of it, and when I turned around at one point, I found the scene above to be much more interpretive.
Note: Brenda Tharp, a top travel photographer, teaches many online photo courses at BetterPhoto.com, including one that focuses on how to capture artistic images and another on macro photography. Also consider other online photo classes at BetterPhoto's digital photography school.
photo copyright by Brenda Tharp
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