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A Composition Outside the Common Rules

I was in the Lake District in Cumbria and didn’t want to miss the chance to shoot some images while I was there. I got up before dawn and my hotel was shrouded in thick fog. 
 
So in many ways this was an opportunity image as I parked the car opposite the lake, walked over the road I saw the tree from a little way off and thought it looked like a possibility so went along the edge of the lake and sat for a about half an hour enjoying the silence and the calm. I took two frames one just before the sun rose filly above the hill and one about five minutes after. 
 
As I only took two frames the choice was limited to this one just before the sun fully rose over the hill or the one about five minutes after - I just preferred this version. My main concerns when shooting are does the image reflect my spiritual and emotional connection with the location. I’m unfussed by the technical side of photography I think it’s a distraction from the creation of the image. I use Fuji cameras because they are small and don’t get in the way and with the aid of an electronic viewfinder what I see on screen is exactly what I will get on the print. I’m really happy with this image because it matched exactly the sense of space, calm and connection moment I felt as the sun rose on that beautiful morning.

I usually know which image is the one I like before I put the camera away, my method of working is shoot less see more, feel everything - which sounds a bit new age but I find that the cameras and other people generally get in the way, so when I take a frame in solitude I usually only take one perhaps two at the most, then I just enjoy the moment afterwards. 

This image reflects exactly what I felt on the side of the lake, it is so calm and peaceful. I leaned that each day brings new opportunities and that you should take them.