When a picture is able to connect viewer’s mood or imagination with a projected emotion or sensorial impact, we can say that is a powerful image. I refer here to an atmospheric picture, when the picture is able to project a sense of a specific place or time into the imagination of the viewer. Technical adjustments in the camera or during edition, with digital photography, can facilitate to create certain effects, such as contrast, colours, focus, image noise, etc. But no matter what is done with those adjustments, the heaviest element is the intensity of the scene atmosphere and how the subject is contextualised within the scene. Atmosphere in a scene is the result of many aspects such as weather conditions, crowds or lack of people, light, movement, etc. Thus, the moment when we shoot will play a critical role to take a good atmospheric photographic, as no place looks the same at any given point of time.
It usually helps to capture in this type of photography, those elements that can be easily recognised by the brain of the viewer with iconic or relatable elements associated to a specific type of place (dessert, rain forest…), region (Amazonia, African steppes, European Atlantic coast cliffs) or the seasonality (Spring, Winter…). This will trigger a quick association on the specific place the viewer may recognise or associate with (or we want them to associate with, that is the power of photography), experiencing a perception of emotions, imagined or previous experienced sensations, and triggering empathy in some cases.
For this type of photography, camera preparation and technical adjustments may be required, but it should not be a major challenge, as time may be available as the atmosphere of a place it varies but it usually stays in time for periods. In other occasions, we just need to be able and open to look, so then we just need to be fast to capture it with whatever tool we may have - it may be the phone camera if that is the only equipment we may have.
The picture above was inspired by observation on the road views during a drive to the Saloum Delta in Senegal. I was completely absorbed by the atmosphere created by the last hours of light prior the sunset, with the heat perceived not only from the dusty air, the refraction and an unclear view of the horizon, but also associated with the type of nature and vegetation present in the landscape. Other iconic elements where present constantly during the drive such as Baobab trees and a remarkably imposing round and intense sun. In this case I was not seeking to take this specific type of photography, but once I stopped looking and stepped out of the moment, I tried to take some pictures with my phone, being the above one of them.