Wikipedia defines Photography this way:
Photography is the art, application and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film.
This the dry, boiled down to strict wording definition of the Art of Photography.
More to my way of relating to, pondering and doing Photography is the 2nd definition from Wikipedia:
The word “photography” was created from the Greek roots φωτός (phōtos), genitive of φῶς (phōs), “light” and γραφή (graphé) “representation by means of lines” or “drawing”, together meaning “drawing with light”.
Drawing with Light captures me in the soul because, while I can’t “draw” much more than stick men – I am intrigued by light and drawing with it to practice my art – photography – so I use my tolls (Camera and Lenses ) to create something from the moments of light dancing on the Landscape.
Ask a group of 10 Photographers what makes an image and you will likely get 10 differing responses, some parallel, some divergent, but all worth considering as you really look at an image.
For me it Light – that precious moment of convergence when Light sheds its presence and allure on a subject at a point in time. Yes, and most assuredly, composition and subject are part of the process and contribute to an Image. Yet, without Light, the mercurial and enigmatic element a photographer chases ( and it is a chase ) the image I want to create suffers from something being absent.
There are special moments out in the Landscape – when the Light is overwhelmingly present – that it makes the Image more than what is there! And it this the Special Moments with Light that I cherish as a Landscape Photographer. The singular moment is captured with the flash of the shutter. You can plan for it and, you can be in place ready and waiting. You can be surprised by it and react accordingly, change plans etc.
Light, it is enigmatic, mercurial, alluring, fascinating, and – to me and my desire for making and image – the crucial element.
I hope these two images and the special moments of light I witnessed engage your senses!