Field Notes
This area, just outside San Quirico D'Orchia is a favourite amongst photographers. I was, naturally, delighted to arrive after a 40 minute drive to find bags of mist ebbing and flowing in the valley below. I could also see the sky was clear and dawn light was going to lend some atmosphere so I begun shooting the pre dawn to capture as many views under these conditions as possible. It was my second visit to the area and the previous trip had not yielded anything like this much mist so I was keen to capitalise while I could. I can't really explain why I chose this viewpoint, there are infinite places to stand and shoot this view and they all have their merits. What I found was that, from this position, I had a good, open view of the scene without anything distracting the shot, such as unsightly barns or trees and I could work a variety of compositions from this one place. Spending more time looking for photographs from one spot when the light is unfolding is preferable to racing around hoping to land another killer viewpoint which isn't substantially different, or which may prove elusive. It also means I can squeeze more variety out of a single viewpoint that I know is working rather than risk cutting short and finding the light improves and I'm no longer in position and set up and ready. EOS 5DMKII, 70-200mm, 1.3secs, f11 ISO 100.