Whether you prefer wildlife photography or landscapes, light is the key element for making any image a dramatic success. Great light can come in many forms, from soft warm light to luminous flat light, but predicting the right light for your subject matter can be another trick altogether. I have found that Mother Nature will often times give clues to when it will reveal fantastic lighting situations. If you keep tabs on some of these clues, you will increase your chances of matching the right light to the right subject.

What are some of the clues that Mother Nature leaves? If you are looking for dramatic light, the answer is changing weather systems. It might not be rocket science, but after taking notes for years, I found that shifting weather systems played the biggest role in offering opportunities to experience great light. To narrow it down further, I have found that the period of three to five weeks surrounding a seasonal change offered the best prospect of encountering dramatic light on a consistent basis.

It seemed strange at first, but my notes didn't lie and neither did the shooting opportunities. I noticed that as the seasons gear up to change from summer to fall, fall to winter, etc., the respective weather systems for each season have a period of time where they clash as one season passes the torch over to the next. When the humid days of summer start to bang heads with the crisp days of autumn, it causes a lot of disturbance in the air, and consequently it provides for great light. The same goes for fall into winter and once again from winter into spring and so forth. It happens every year, year in and year out. It's in these transition periods that I have encountered some of the best light in which to photograph, and consequently have captured some of my strongest images.

Every season is different, and some transitions are milder than others, but there is always a period of time when the lingering weather systems of one season collide with the oncoming systems of the next, making for some dramatic shifts in how light reacts in the atmosphere.

A second clue that Mother Nature gives is when there are drastic changes in temperature. This is one of the big keys I look for when shooting in the middle of a particular season. Extreme differences of twenty degrees or more in a relatively short period of time can often produce lighting effects ranging from fog to luscious warm light.

Whenever I'm in the Adirondacks of New York, I keep an eye out for dramatic drops in overnight temperature. If there is one, I head for a particular lake where this change creates a large fog bank that doesn't lift until well after sunrise, providing ample opportunities for moody images.

In the winter, I will often keep an eye out for drastic drops or rises in temperature, as it often leads to some very interesting light. If there is snow on the ground, I head for a few familiar reservoirs and lakes. If there is no snow, I head for the beaches of Sandy Hook, to capture the dramatic light in seascape images.

Mother Nature's third clue is approaching and passing storms. Storms will very often provide striking light. A lingering storm front that has already emptied itself of rain can provide excellent flat light that works particularly well with fall foliage, creek scenes or certain close-up work like flowers.

I like storms that are due in the morning or evening and that break up in the magic light hours. I will often refer to the weather channel or a reliable radio station that does frequent weather updates to see if it looks like a storm will be coming or going at the appropriate times. If you catch one right, you are almost certain to witness light that will take your breath away.

One of my favorite images was taken an hour after a morning rain had passed through the region. The weather report indicated the rain would end in the morning and clearing skies would follow. I headed out to a state park with locations primed for the right light to fall on them. When I arrived, there was still a faint drizzle. As I made my way into the park the drizzle faded and the cloud cover was beginning to slowly break. I arrived at my location and watched as the light began to open up. With camera, film and tripod ready, I waited for the light to paint the canvas I composed. The image of the damp trail planks, warm grasses and fresh greens of the trees has been a favorite of mine for many years. It is also of little coincidence that this image was taken in late May, about four weeks before the onset of summer.

A source I use for finding out details about upcoming weather is the Weather Channel website (www.weather.com). There is a unique feature I employ called The Hourly forecast. On the morning of an afternoon shoot or the night before a morning shoot, I consult this forecast to see when the temperature shift is going to occur or how a system is going to pass through.

These are simply three observations I have made while striving to shoot in the best light possible. It is not a foolproof system by any means, but the chances of shooting in dramatic light increases when I pay attention to these three factors. After all, it is the light we chase, the light we crave, and the light that sparks our imaginations and wets our creative appetites to search and capture the next trophy image.

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Brien Szabo is a stay at home dad and part time professional nature photographer. He teaches several nature photography classes in New Jersey, as well as hosts various workshops in the northeast. Brien continues to publish his work as well as display it in a variety of galleries throughout the state.