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In yesterday's post, I talked a bit about changing my approach to photography. The main reason why I embarked on this general change in thought process is partially due to some of the photo trips that I took while on the north coast. I used to take a lot of shots and used to come up with very few keepers, this approach continued after the move to the west coast as well, but gradually, I started to bring some of the practices that great photographers often employ to great success.
The first step was a change in approach towards my photo trips. I started to look at them as a first trip on many as opposed to thinking that this is my only chance to visit. The second step was to familiarize the area before taking out the camera itself. Many great photographers followed the practice, and it helped me immensely in getting over the FOMO. We started to spend more time exploring, hiking and generally enjoying the spots before waiting for the right conditions for taking photos. My wife helped with this immeasurably by acquiring a phone gimbal and by taking out short videos of our trips. It has helped me a lot in making meaningful images rather than spraying and praying for good shots.
This shot is taken on a road trip to Vermont, shortly before I moved to the west coast. The Moss Glen Falls is a popular roadside attraction and draws a lot of leaf peepers. I had to wait a good amount of time to get the fall all to myself. This type of event would have frustrated me a lot in the past, but I had allocated enough time into the plan, and this allowed me to relax and plan the shots that I wanted.