Whether you do long-distance running or not, most people have heard the term “runner’s high.” It’s that feeling runners can experience when they feel like they can keep going and going and going. They are in the proverbial zone. Not every runner experiences this feeling, and not every long run will result in it either. I used to run anywhere from four to six miles a day, four to five days a week, and I can tell you that I experienced that runner’s high exactly once.
Just as there is a runner’s high, I think there is also a photographer’s high. Similar to the runner’s high, a photographer’s high occurs when a photographer experiences the feeling of being able to see compositions everywhere and take amazing picture after amazing picture after amazing picture. Probably not every photographer experiences this feeling, and certainly not every photographic outing will result in it either. In fact, I can tell you that I have experienced a photographer’s high only once that I can recall. But, it was an amazing feeling.
It occurred several years ago on a Spring trip to the Old Mill. Mother Nature had provided a nice overcast sky, and there was no wind that I could notice. Arriving at the mill, the flowers were in full bloom, and I was awestruck by the incredible color that I had never witnessed there before or since. I tried to stand there and just soak it all in, but I quickly found myself reaching for my camera equipment.
Within minutes, that photographer’s high kicked in. No matter which way I stepped or looked, compositions seemed to instantly jump out at me. Framing a scene flowed without much conscious thought, and choosing appropriate camera settings seemed to be second nature. It was all so easy, so relaxing, so intuitive.
Eventually, that incredible sense of awareness began to wane, and the sun began to break through the clouds. But, not before I was able to capture this image, which was just one of many wonderful pictures I was able to make on that incredible morning.