Canon Elan IIe, tripod Sigma 28-105 at 35mm Fuji Velvia 50 Exposure unrecorded

So you make one

Everyone looks at composing their photos differently. Some people have an eye, and compositions just leap out at them. Others have to work at it, or never really produce anything strong. Don't ask me where I lie.

I needed to add more landscape images to my stock, but this particular trip wasn't hitting too many locales that provided really nice vistas. The cloud against the sky, stretching away into the distance, simply asked to be part of a composition, so I meandered around until I had the above framing.

Now, the part that I probably shouldn't tell you, because photography isn't necessarily about the reality of the image, but the impression that it provides. The beach was actually pretty crowded, and worse, a little too developed for the type of images I like. The vertical composition has selected a narrow band of emptiness between vacationers, and the twisted dune fence is actually hiding an oceanside resort hotel – you can just see it peeking through near the edge. By getting to the edge of the dune grasses, I eliminated the obvious tracks of everyone using this beach access and made it seem quiet and isolated. The lesson here is that you can select the aspects within your frame to produce the idea that you want.

But it works better if you don't tell anyone about it...