I don't carry a magic eight ball or Ouija board in my camera bag but 9 times out of 10 I seem to choose light. Recently, I was staying at Lake Louise, a very famous place, and the photographers had lined up on shore before sunrise. The lighting by the lake was flat and the scene looked dull; the magic eight ball would have said "looks doubtful". There was some beautiful colour starting to show on the opposite horizon so I quickly broke away from the herd.

Excited I started to follow the outlet creek towards the light. The scene was beautiful -- a perfect winter wonderland with snow covered trees, a flowing creek, and beautiful colour in the sky. For a brief moment I thought about the tripods around the lake and as Mr.T would say: "I pitied the fools". When faced with a choice between great light and great scenery I will always go with the first option. For me lighting is the most important element to creating stunning outdoor photos.