Landscape Photography is one of the oldest forms of the art. Possibly because trees and rocks don't move too much - and the earliest photography required long exposures - and possibly because for the first 50 years or so of its existence Photography was trying to gain acceptance by the Art Establishment and believed it could achieve this by following the conventions and themes of Painting.
We still tend to think of Landscape in relation to the great outdoors. Windswept mountainsides & crystal clear lakes. But of course landscape can be urban and man-made too.
We all inhabit many personal landscapes. It might be the slope of a hill on our familiar daily walk or a vista etched in our memories from childhood. Photographing the places we visit is an act of memory. A record of a time and place. We remember the feel of the rock beneath our boots and the slipping sand beneath our bare feet. When we look at the images we are there again.
When I have found a landscape which I want to photograph, I wait for the right season, the right weather, and the right time of day or night, to get the picture which I know to be there. Bill Brandt
Sometimes I arrive just when God’s ready to have someone click the shutter. Ansel Adams
Seascapes
If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff. Jim Richardson
Sunrise and Sunset
They call it the magic hour. Get up early or stay out late for the sculptural beauty and intense colours of a low sun.
Mornng light is often cold and blue and evening light always warm and red in tone
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, / There is a rapture on the lonely shore, / There is society, where none intrudes, / By the deep Sea, and music in its roar: / I love not Man the less, but Nature more. Lord Byron
Black & White
Reducing the world to the tones of light and dark makes for great Landscape shots. Look for shape and structure
Aperture Priority for Landscape
Most of the time when we're shooting Landscape pictures we want the whole scene to be sharp. To achieve this we need our cameras to shoot with a small aperture - and if we choose Aperture Priority we can set this ourselves.
Landscape Tools & Tips
Alarm Clock - Tripod - The right clothes for the location and weather - A familiar place or somewhere new ?
The right time of day - perfect light - Use human or animal figures to give scale and focal points
The right time of day - perfect light - Use human or animal figures to give scale and focal points
Photographer Profile - Stephen Shepherd
Gloucestershire based photographer Stephen Shepherd mixes abstract and saturated colour to produce his distinctive landscapes.
Weather and Light are crucial to producing the best landscape images and he switches between Colour and BW as appropriate and uses conventional and unconventional composition techniques to make the shot work.
Using composition techniques to help make the picture.
Rule Of Thirds & Leading lines
Rule Of Thirds & Leading lines
Rule of Thirds
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Leading Lines
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Look for the Mountain symbol to use Landscape Mode
Or use Aperture Priority (AV on Canon - A on Nikon and most other cameras ) and set a high number F16 or F22
The control dial on your camera will allow you to select the Aperture you want.
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Depth of Field refers to the amount of the image that is in focus
