A typical magazine journalist is expected to develop the skill of creating interesting photography to illustrate his/her stories for magazines. Photography is tied deeply to becoming conscious of the sky, the weather, the lands that surround you. The image above is from California near Palm Springs, where towering mountains separate the maritime and the desert worlds. In a recent trip the clouds were hypnotic. Above gentle clouds danced across the blue sky, even as menacing dark and dangerous-looking systems climbed over the mountain tops to threaten the terrain facing me, looming higher in the blue sky every moment The darkening scene turned the foreground into a silhouette. What would happen? Would a clap of thunder precede a sudden rain? The movement of the clouds and the distant clamor of natural electrical systems told their story. Before long the clouds had risen to cover the sky above and create a breathless feeling like the impending rise of a theatre curtain on some drama. Yes, this would be a photograph that would move future viewers of a magazine story.
Photos tell your story without captions. They set the stage for events you will relate. The mood of your artile's focus. Look, Listen. Imagine.
