Notes From a Recent Planning Session

Last week we sat down to map out the next three months of field work. The agenda was straightforward: review pending assignments, check equipment readiness, and decide which geographic areas to prioritise for the archive. No grand vision, just a set of practical decisions that would shape the coming weeks.

The first point on the table was the Sierra de Guadarrama series. We had two unfinished sessions from the autumn — one at La Pedriza, another around the Siete Picos ridge. Both needed a second pass because the light conditions during the initial visits were too flat. The granite formations there demand a low, raking sun to bring out the texture, and that means a narrow window in late afternoon. We agreed to schedule both for the first week of April, when the forecast shows stable high pressure.

Next we discussed the portrait work for a small editorial catalogue. The client wants a set of environmental portraits shot in open fields, with the subject placed against a distant treeline. The brief is specific: no artificial fill, no reflectors, just the available light and a fast prime lens. We tested a few locations last month and found a site near the edge of a barley field that gives a clean background without visual clutter. The session is set for mid-April, pending the farmer's permission to access the track.

On the equipment side, we decided to send the 85mm f/1.4 for a routine calibration. It has been pulling slightly to the left since a bumpy car ride in January. The turnaround from the service centre is usually five working days, so we will have it back before the Guadarrama dates. The rest of the kit — two bodies, three primes, a carbon tripod — checked out fine during a quick test walk around the studio block.

The archive project also got a slot. We have been documenting a series of limestone pavements in the eastern part of the region, and the next visit will cover a section that was inaccessible during the wet season. The ground should be dry enough by late April. The plan is to shoot in the morning and use the midday hours to review the captures on a laptop in the field, adjusting the framing for the afternoon pass.

That was the session. No breakthroughs, no dramatic changes. Just a list of concrete steps, a calendar with dates, and a few notes on what to pack. The kind of planning that keeps the work moving without fanfare.