Many photogenic scenes have multiple elements within. If the arrangement of these elements comes into harmony we have a scene that seems
very photogenic. This does not imply that a scene need be one that is complicated or necessarily has many elements all the time to be affective. Simple scenes are
often very powerful and meaningful.
Let’s take a look at some landscape and nature scenes that have multiple
elements that by themselves make another photogenic image. Whenever there
are several elements within the scene you have just created, take a much closer
look at that scene. Upon completion of the initial photo inspect the scene with
a critical eye. You most likely have already done this in your initial approach,
so do it again. You may be surprised to see another beautiful element just sitting
there waiting for you.
On a bitter cold winter morning I drove to Harriman State park just a short
drive from my home. The day before, I scouted the large lake named Tiorati for
a composition. I found several large boulders near the shoreline and pre-visualized
the rising sun coming up over the distant hills.

Before the sun actually made its appearance, I set the tripod up and used my
24 x 70mm zoom lens to frame the scene. I was shooting as I usually do in aperture
priority mode so that I could select my f stop. I shot this scene at f16 to create as much “depth of focus” as possible to allow for sharpness throughout the landscape.
I switched the meter to “center weighted” and took the reading off the ice on the near side of the partially frozen lake. The huge boulders would go dark, but I
wasn’t concerned about that. I always “bracket” my exposures anyway, especially
in scenes that may be difficult to meter. The ice was reflecting some warm tones from the glowing sky and actually was not too far from being a “medium toned”
color, so I felt comfortable with my exposure reading.
As soon as the sun made its appearance, I made some minor adjustments to the composition and began shooting and of course bracketing. I placed a warming filter on the lens for some more color after the initial shots without one. I like the warm tones better and continued to create additional shots with it.
In a few minutes the initial shoot was over. But wait! Before I moved the tripod to another location, I spotted another scene within the framework of my original image. I really liked the combination of the massive boulders and the graceful melted areas around its base. I placed my 100 x 300mm zoom on

the camera and “zoomed"out to create a second composition. The dark boulders give
a substance to the scene and the melted sections of ice radiate out in an artistic
arrangement that makes a completely separate image.
In arches National Park, Utah I made the trek in the dark to reach a very
famous scene that many photographers have made in the past. This is the scene of North Window with Turret Arch. To get in position, I had to arrive well before dawn and make the short hike from the parking area, walk through North window and take the winding trail around the cliff to the spot on a very narrow ledge for the

right angle of view.
There is only room for about 5 photographers tripods and when I arrived four
people were already waiting in the dark. I just made it. This small ledge has been
trod upon by most of the great masters of photography. It has held their tripods and each of them has waited, hoping for the shaft of intense light to illuminate the
massive red sandstone arch. And here I was hoping for that exciting moment to happen for me. It did.
This shot needs an extreme wide-angle lens to include most of the North Window. I was using my 24mm and it worked nicely. Turret arch can be seen from this angle as a scene within the scene. When the moment of sweet light happened we
all began to record the scene. In just a few minutes the light begins to change from
Intense directional lighting to an overall illumination as the sun rises too high. We all packed up our tripods and began the hike out. A lot of preparation and waiting and then it’s over very quickly. But we all got the shot.

Late that afternoon with some nice lighting on Turret Arch, I made additional photos of this nifty sandstone structure. This is a fine example of the
scene within the scene.
On a tour of Saguaro National Monument near Tucson, Arizona I was just
hiking through the maze of huge cacti, when I spotted a smaller cactus that was backlit. Using the 100 – 300mm lens I angled the camera so that a distant mountain

formed the background and made my photo. I wanted to show the backlit cactus
needles closeup, so I moved the tripod in closer and zoomed the lens to crop just the center portion of the cactus. I got what I wanted in the final image, which was the second photo within the photo.