In a few recent articles, I discuss some of the technical details of photography. Aperture, ISO, shutter speed and other details are outlined.

However, there’s one very important ingredient that can’t be learned from a photography book or even fully understood in a classroom envirorment.

The ingredient that I’m talking about is patience.

If you’ve ever been to New York City and visited the walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge, you know that, usually, the upper deck is packed with people. So many in fact that it would be impossible to get a photograph without them in the image.

On our last visit to NYC, I walked the bridge a few times. Finally, one rainy morning I got the shot that I wanted. There were still people, but not so many that I couldn’t wait them out and get the shot that I wanted.

This is just one example. A healthy dose of patience is also required when making images of the sunrise, or the sunset to be honest.

Sunrise is pretty straight forward, the sun is going to rise. The hour before is often better (more photogenic) than when the sun actually shows itself.

Sunset is sometimes the same way. Once the sun dips below the horizon, resist the urge to pack up your equipment. Some of the best images come from this time after the sun sets, known as the ‘golden hour’.

I often compare landscape photography with fishing, you never know exactly what you’ll get and they both take patience. In both cases, patinece almost always pays off.

So, I guess the message of this post is; don’t be in too much of a rush. Wait for the right time, take the time to get the image that is in your vision.