I don't like to set things up when I'm shooting. I really prefer to photograph what I find. The interpretation comes in making the print.
I was never really instructed in how to print in color, so I adjusted the colors in my photographs to be whatever I felt they should look like or convey. The way I use color is very subjective. The picture on the left is a super-cold gray. A neutral print of this would be unimpressive. But the color here reflects the feeling of the place: middle of the winter, edge of the lake, wind blowing, ice-cold.
Then when the sun comes out, the photograph has an entirely different feeling to it. But these colors don't reflect what it actually looked like. I like colors that are more muted and softer than in reality. I'm not married to reality; don't feel I have to faithfully describe a place. I add my own emotional content in the choices I make in the printing process. Color absolutely sets a mood. There's no question about it. When I'm choosing the colors, anything goes, but I still want the picture to feel like it could be real, like it could have happened.