Kawaguchiko, Japan

What they wanted

M was visiting Kawaguchiko from Tokyo with his girlfriend, planning to propose by the lake with Mt. Fuji in the background. We'd already agreed on a backup date the next day, just in case the weather didn't cooperate. As it turned out, we needed that flexibility, just not in the way anyone expected.

The challenge

The day started about as gloomy as it gets. Dark, completely overcast, some snow, some rain. We had the backup date ready in case we needed it. But around one or two in the afternoon, the weather started clearing beautifully. It became quite dramatic looking, with Fuji showing up almost completely, though there were still a lot of clouds shaping the light around it.

By the time we finished the shoot, Fuji was almost completely covered again. About twenty minutes later, back at the hotel, it was gone entirely. Because both M and I were staying overnight in the area, we had the flexibility to come and go, and to communicate quickly about conditions. That's what let us spot the window and go for it. If we'd waited for the backup day instead, it turned out to be completely overcast too, so we would have missed it entirely.