So, when the going gets tough, I remember that note painfully stapled to my forehead, and I force myself to get going. For example, one day while photographing Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, gale force winds roared through the area, whipping up blowing sand into a frenzy. Almost everyone else visiting the dunes that day, photographer and tourist alike, stayed well clear of the churning sandstorm. Not me. Instead of turning back, I narrowed by eyes, squared my jaw, and purposefully strode into the howling maelstrom, trying my best to look the part of a Hollywood action hero in order to impress the scattering of onlookers. Brave? Perhaps. Stupid? Definitely. Either way, I endured a wicked sandblasting: each gust felt like sliding down sandpaper, mercilessly tearing hair from my arms and legs, and screams of pain from my lungs. I can assure you that they were extremely manly screams, not high pitched girlie-man screams as some scurrilous rumor-mongers have alleged. Well, so much for looking like an action hero.
In the end, however, it was worth braving the elements. I was able to photograph plumes of sand arcing gracefully hundreds of feet over undulating dune crests, backlit by the setting sun. For the photo below, I made sure to shoot into the sun for creative effect, thereby adding color, contrast, and drama to the image. To me, the photo captures something of the wild essence of the epic conditions I experienced that day.
By the way, there's a great picture taken by Joseph Rossbach (of Wilderness Warrior fame, from the June 2010 issue of OP), on the bio page of my website, showing me climbing the dunes during the sandstorm. While I was high up on the dune crests exposed to the full blast of the sandstorm, the "Wilderness Warrior" was hiding down below out of the wind, sipping piña coladas. Okay, so maybe he was teaching a private workshop client and therefore had a valid excuse for not going into the sandstorm, and maybe he and his client still endured some fairly wicked winds at the bottom of the dune field, but in my version of the story he wimped out and decided to enjoy mixed drinks at the bar instead.
Perhaps I'll replace the "going gets tough" quote with a new one that has a somewhat more positive spin: "Epic conditions produce epic photographs." Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Now if I could only remove this painful staple in my forehead. Maybe next time I'll try super glue instead.
—Ian Plant
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And…. what an incredible, beautiful, outstanding, gorgeous, outcome you produce each and every time. Thank you for not giving up and photographing God’s awesome wonders!!! You rock the Rock!!! Sandra D.
Thanks Sandra for the extremely kind words!
Hello Ian! I just wanted to let you know that I just saw your article in Popular Photography a couple weeks ago and decided to research you and your work for a school assignment. (I am finishing up my first semester as digital photography student.) I want to be a wildlife and nature photographer, and your work is very inspiring; you capture nature in unique and stunningly beautiful ways that I hope to achieve in my career. Thank you for all the help in your articles, it’s great to be able to learn more about what I want to do in life from a professional that I can aspire to.
Thanks for the kind words Charmaine, and good luck in your studies!
Hi Ian!
Simple and good article!
I knew the story of the “Sand Star” photo by your web site. I like the final image.
Love your work.
A few days ago I read in a magazine that human capacity of suffering “psychologically” was diminishing. So you are the opposite. Perhaps we can gain the “suffering” capacity by training.
I think that photographers in general are symbioses of several areas. Suffering is one more area.
The Nature photographers are all that. In competitive market like yours only hard working and “little” suffering make you reach the objective. Our problem, in Portugal, is that we don’t have market for Nature Photography, but is slowly growing in the last years. I wont mind “little” suffering ::))
Kind regards
Marco Santos Marques
Lightscapes in Nature
Hi Marco! It is said that all great art is born from suffering. Let’s face it, no one suffers more than us nature photographers!
Nice post! Your writing style drug me into your experience. I’m heading for the dunes in September. I hope to get “epic” photos, but I’m not sure about the sandblasting. Thanks for your creativity!
Good luck in the dunes Gary. Wear pants if it is windy – shorts are no good – learned this the hard way!