Fine Art Landscape Photograph – Awake My Soul

Awake My Soul, Fine Art Landscape Photograph

We’re delighted to share with you the third piece from my recent Hell Week filled with 2:55am alarms and dawn photographs on Lake Huron.

Wednesday of Hell Week took me to Kettle Point, another one of my favourite places to photograph. I’ve been there many times in the past and it always proves to be a nice balance of challenging and inspiring.

It was a very CHILLY morning. I’ll admit it, I had my winter coat on. It’s the two layer style, a wind/rain barrier that I wear over fleece. I often take the raincoat part with me because it can get quite windy out there on the water’s edge and it keeps it from whipping right through me. That morning I had the fleece layer on because the temperature had dipped so low over night. And I didn’t regret it. People always say I’m wimpy for so easily putting on my winter coat, but something about the design of it rarely makes me sweat.

I brought one of my newest editions to my arsenal with me – rubber boots. And I love ’em! I wear them every time I’m photographing on the beach. Even when I’m photographing in a garden or a grassy lawn early in the morning, they keep my feet dry, and it really breaks down any sort of barrier with regards to where I’m going to go during a shoot. Though this particular morning I could have used hip waders, I came home with a wet bottom from squatting so low in the water.

Here’s how things went down that morning:

2:50 am – wake up call

3:20 am – load car and leave for Kettle Point, gear was packed the night before

4:45 am – arrive at Kettle Point, set up and begin photographing in pre-sunrise light

5:50 am – sunrise, keep shooting

6:00 am – wrap shoot and head back to the studio

7:15 am – arrive back at the studio and unpack the car

7:30 am – begin downloading and backing up files

8:00 am – breakfast

8:30 am – choose selects, tweak images for colour, contrast, lightness, and darkness, process raw files

9:00 am – retouch

9:45 am – send test prints to the lab and archive final image

And I made a little video so you could see how beautiful it was out on Lake Huron that morning. See all those happy little bugs zipping around?

The title for Awake My Soul came from a Mumford & Sons song (aren’t they great?), though the meaning differs – their song is about love while my photograph makes me think of meditation and creativity.

Meditation is extremely difficult because it forces you to focus on one thought, letting all others drift past your mind. Once all aspects of that one thought have been thoroughly considered, only then are you allowed to move on to the next. For me this is like single tasking, and it leaves lots of room in my brain and soul for creativity.

So, what are your questions about how this photograph was made? Do you have some place you love to visit because it sparks creativity? What does this image make you think of? How much do you love Mumford & Sons? Do you have a music recommendation of a similar style?

Sign up for our Sneak Peek Emails to be the first to hear about our final photograph from June’s Hell Week and stay tuned to our blog for all the production details.