Brown County Mornings

A Few Notes on How to Approach Landscape Photography

  A FE W NOT E S ON HOW TO A PPROAC H L A N DSC A PE PHOTOGR A PH Y GreaT lanDsCaPe IMaGes If you look at many books of landscape photography, calendars, postcards, etc., it soon becomes apparent that many of the beautiful photographs are of scenes in America ’s national parks of the Southwest. It’s no wonder since the region is so blessed with outstanding natural features. Yet, creating a fresh image that doesn’t closely resemble what has been produced by other photographers is hard to come by. If you are fortunate enough to spend a few days at the Grand Canyon or some other exotic location, consider yourself blessed if conditions make for a special landscape photograph that does more than prove you were there. You might think that at such a location you will come up with a spectacular image. Even at the Grand Canyon, which is an awesome sight to behold, the view alone will not do it! It really depends on the light, atmospheric conditions, etc. I find the following premise to be true and it is what drives my photography: When a photographer waits for the right light, stunning photographs can be made from landscapes that are not in themselves stunning, but rather commonplace. I hope the images here bear that out. I have been blessed with the opportunity to seek out, enjoy, and photograph some of the beauty in this tiny part of the world. I encourage you to get out there with your own camera and amaze yourself with beautiful images you record when the light is wonderful beyond description! To get the most satisfaction from your interest in landscape photography, you should have access to a camera that allows you to manually control the aperture and shutter speed settings. Also, you will want a zoom lens that extends from wide angle to medium telephoto, or you can use interchangeable lenses if your camera allows for that. A tripod is also basic for your landscape photography since you will be shooting at slow shutter speeds much of   the time. Using a tripod has the added benefit of making you take time to study your composition more closely than if the camera was handheld. lIGhT Light is the one thing that is necessary for all of photography . Every picture is dependent upon it. Galen Rowell (photographer and mountain climber) made the interesting statement in his book titled Mountain Light that “I am never photographing an object, but rather light itself.” His comment is interesting to ponder as you look at a landscape. Light defines the scene as it plays on the contours, giving a sense of depth. Sometimes, the light is so transient, the way it changes can completely alter the scene you wish to capture. In fact, this makes it more fun, and a bit of a challenge, but mostly exciting! The change to the appearance of the landscape is noticeable as the sun breaks the horizon and continues to rise. Try this exercise to see the change: with the camera pointed at a landscape at 0 degrees to the sun, take one picture just after the sun breaks the horizon. Fifteen minutes later, adjust your aperture and shutter to provide an equivalent exposure of the same scene which is becoming brighter. Notice the change. Which is better? You decide which effect is more appealing to your taste. As the sun rises, the warm light will be replaced by cooler light. Landscape photographers know the phrase “happy hour” or “magic hour” to generally mean the best times to shoot landscapes, one hour after sunrise or one hour before sunset. At these times of the day, the angle of the sunlight is low and warm and gives a very appealing effect. Cross light accentuates it even more. The combination of the warm light and long shadows leaves one with the sense that all is right with the world. What makes landscape photography interesting is the variety you get with different atmospheric conditions and the ways it can affect Brown County State Park. Summer.   the lighting. The character of a scene can change dramatically based on whether there is drizzling rain, fog, steam hovering over water, a breeze, a misty morning, or cloudy weather which will reduce or eliminate shadows. I prefer foggy conditions. Fog simplifies the landscape by softening the view and reducing details. The viewer...