I wanted to show you this image as processing it made me realise something quite important about photography. I shot the photograph in March on my LX5 when visiting New York. The location is Grand Central Terminal, usually referred to (incorrectly) as Grand Central Station. Whilst I quite liked the photograph at the time, it’s only now that I am really appreciating it. I think part of the reason I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time is that I had shot so many of the same scene with only a few variations of position (there might be a lesson to learn in that). Anyway looking at the photograph now, especially when printed, I find I really like it. I have even set it as the background image on my phone and I find people often comment favourably about it.

By this point you are probably wondering what this has to do with rules. Well as a Landscape Photographer I have found myself becoming "brainwashed“ into not wanting to blow the highlights in my images. I see this sort of advised dispensed all the time with people often repeat it in magazines, on the internet and in conversation. What I would say is that this might be true for some images but for others, not blowing the highlights robs the image of its impact.

Let me explain further. I recently printed one of my photographs of trees emerging from a morning mist as the sun broke through to light the mist. There was a huge contrast range which the camera would never have coped with. Rather than worry that the highlights were blown I just made my exposures. When I processed the image in Photoshop I found that if I tried to tame the blown highlights in anyway, it just made the scene look dull. The key to the images success was the huge contrast which made the print almost shine and come to life.

I think the same is true of this image. There is a very bright area in the centre of the photograph where the sun is shining through the window and reflecting on the floor. Attempting to tame this causes the image to lose some of its impact, appear dull and drab in comparison. The message then is don’t become a slave to rules that are really nothing more than guidelines under a certain set of circumstances. Instead develop your own judgement as to what works and what doesn’t for the image you are shooting. Yes this might be hard to judge at first and you will make lots of mistakes but isn’t that what practicing is all about.