Can you take a bad photo in the Himalayas
 

Last week I went to a talk by Doug Scott, the famous climber (first Britain up Everest amongst many other conquests). The talk was interspersed with many of his wonderful photographs of great mountain ranges and snow covered peaks.

There was one shot of a Sherpa carrying a large hamper like basket which was full of Doug's gear.

However the question is, given fantastic scenery, won't most people be able to take good (if not great photographs). yes, there will be many un-thought of angles and compositions but the basic mountain/hill tops will be quite similar in quality.

A point for discussion really

PS a sample photograph is available here

Incidentally there seems to be a good set of images in screensaver format in the links on the LH side of the above link

OK I'll get the ball rolling with;

Photography is the art of capturing light with the essense of all the highlights, shades, colours and shadows. If you have an interesting subject well lit your halfway there. Often you hear the phase "being in the right place at the right time" to capture those few precious moments when everything comes together to make a mundane subject come to life. To get the best advantage photographers learn and study when these events are most likely to occur. Some outdoor subjects rarely enjoy such ideal lighting conditions and great skill and knowledge is required to get the best from the scene. Many of our photogenic beauty spots are blessed with more than their fair share of good lighting. Now if you can combine this with a composition that causes the eye to explore the image plus provoke a thought or memory your on the road to a great image. Many great images have a subtle blend of what you see and what you don't see.

I'm sure many will agree with me when I say I take a lot of photographs without thinking about composition or lighting etc. - the fact is I just need to record the image. These however are not the shot's that give me pleasure (least not unless I've been fortunate to capture a stunning image) and it isn't until I spend time thinking about the light, composition, angles, etc and working on that side of my photography that I become (really) pleased with what I'm shooting.

Returning to a scene knowing that you have a chance to capture a picture you've previously taken, but this time maybe in perfect light is something I have now started to do as often as I can. This is giving me a better understanding of light and it's different characteristics, how it is best captured and I'd like to think my photography is improving because of it.

Back to the question "can you take a bad photo in the himalayas?" well it's no different to anywhere else, poor lighting and/or composition may give you a chance to record what you see, but are you missing a golden opportunity?

Not really Derekb. I've gone up to half the height of Himalayas..say around 19000ft. Lack of oxygen and high altitude is real issue here. It can be severe at times. Carrying equipments and changing gears are real painful.

In short yes one can take bad photo in the Himalayas.

I can take a bad photo anywhere... nothing challenging there :D

I would agree with the last post by postcardcv - we can all take bad photo's anywhere. But I always ask what am I taking the picture for? Usually it's for me - if I like it - as I say in my signature that's great - if others like it that's the bonus. In the UK we do not have vast snowcapped ranges, wild elephants, exotic birds and plants, or rain forests. Our clothing is often fairly colourless, we don't have a lot of sun and light is an essential of any good photo.
So we often see photo's that are "good", grab the attention, because they are very different from our own environment. A tranquil meadow scene with a sparkling stream and green lush fields, and fat livestock, will look very good to someone who lives in a parched landscape where it hasn't rained for two or three years ... think of areas in Australia. Photographically ie technically the shots may be poor but the impact may be great. So for me, if YOU like it - it's a good shot.

Hi johnny, i agree to robski view that by being at the right place at the right time you are 80% into clicking a nice photograph, but the rest 20% (read your skills and to an extent equipment) will decide whether the photos will turn out to be great or just good.

i think that real good photographer stands out in his ability to take a good photo from an ordinary situation and a great photos from a good situation.

regards
krishna.