Anyone who has been a photographer for a while knows the value of scouting, whether for an job, a personal project, or in this case, a workshop.

Regardless of the number of times one has visited an area, things can change. A wonderful old barn may have collapsed under the heavy snowfalls of that last hard winter. There is construction going on, and the background for your favorite scene is a sea of cranes and orange, plastic fencing that you really don’t want to feature. The list goes on, and we’ve all seen them in one form or another.

Given the changing landscape, it is always wise to scout. Arnie and I drove down yesterday to Savannah, leaving MooseCat in the capable hands of our house sitter. Or perhaps I should say that the house sitter is in MooseCat’s practiced paws and mreows.

Be that as it may, we got a decent start this morning, heading off to some of our locations, reminding ourselves of the ins and outs of each.

This is also our time to shoot. Yes, of course we do shoot alongside our participants sometimes, but only if everyone is doing fine for the nonce. These few days before a workshop are for us and our scouting.

Because we keep returning to many of the same locations, you might think that we are faced with same old/same old. Quite the contrary. Every time, the light is different, or we see things differently.

I love this door. It is old, weathered, and has texture and pattern. What more could I want? I found yet another way to photograph it this afternoon.

During these scouting days, we are also looking for new opportunities, new places to take our participants. Many side roads turn out to be dead ends, literally and figuratively, but that does not deter us. Eventually, we will have covered every road known in these parts, and perhaps some that have been forgotten.

It wasn’t quite half past wine o’clock, so we went into an area we had not yet explored. It was a maze of narrow lanes, and we zigged and zagged, always looking for water.

One of the characteristics of the Lowcountry is her marshland. The grasses take on varied hues depending upon the time of day and weather. Sometimes, as here, they become near silhouettes.

“STOP!” I cried. “Back up.”

Arnie pulled back from the corner we were approaching and parked the car. What had captured my attention was what I call this ZOT light coming down over the marsh, making the water sing and sparkle.

Of course I had on the wrong lens for what I wanted. Isn’t that always the way? I think it is an axiom in photography — whatever lens you have on is invariably not the right one. Fortunately, I had time to grab the one I needed. The light was just getting better and better.

End result? Not only a image I like, but a new place for Gertrude (our GPS) to remember, including the best time of day for the location. We can’t wait to show our workshop participants this area.

So, take the extra time to scout before you go shooting for real. Make note of the time of day that you think is best for photographing a particular locale. Sometimes, it may be a morning and an afternoon spot, so let your Gertrude know that. If you don’t have Gertrude’s cousin, make notes in your DeLorme Road Atlas. I always color-coded my locations with pink for spring, green for summer, orange for fall, and blue for winter. It was and is an easy ID without a lot of verbiage.

Tomorrow, one of our participants is joining us for Day Two of scouting and shooting in and around Savannah. We should have a lot of fun, and we’re looking forward to it.

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