Paul
30-05-08, 16:17
I’m post exam, next one on Tuesday, so I thought I’d chill out, by writing an article (yes I have ADHA ….. – yes, I am joking)
This article is by no means written in stone, it’s just a few notes on how I approach landscape photography, hopefully it may give some people the drive/will to get out there with their cams and take some snaps.
What is landscape photography?
Well, it’s photography of the scape of ……. Yup you guessed it, land! However, when I refer to landscapes, I’m referring to those big wide angle shots of the wilderness, waterscapes, historic buildings set in the landscape and also cityscapes.
It all starts with a thought.
Before you even think about landscape photography (or any other sort for that matter), you will need to tailor your equipment to the area of interest. For example, carrying huge flashes and umbrellas in a satchel are fine if you are visiting houses to do portraiture, but when you are clambering through bush and trees to get a unique shot, it won’t be that helpful.
What do you need?
I will list the minimal stuff here, you may need extra equipment based on your environment (i.e. waterproofs, compass, etc etc), but I’ll let your common sense work that one out.
1 x camera
1 x lens (or more , or less
- the wider the better
1 or 2 x Filters – not [I]REALLY that important these days with the use of photoshop, but two investments you should definitely make are a circular polarising filter and a neutral density filter.
1 x tripod (very important, and underestimated by many people)
- failing that – 1 x monopod
- failing that – 1 x gorillapod
- failing that – a beanbag
1 x cable release (or a timer function and patience)
1 x memory card with a decent capacity (or seven)
1 x backpack (to put it all in) – very useful whilst on the go
1 x lens cleaning kit – nothing more annoying than not being able to clean your lens after you have been wiped out with spray from a river/waterfall/wave.
Ok, you have your thought, you have your equipment what’s next?
Think again.........
Where are you going to go?
Will the place be a tourist hotspot? (generally or on a specific day, i.e. Bank Holiday)
What time are you going to go?
Where will the sun be?
Will you need your filters?
What style of photography do you fancy today?
All these questions before you have even left the house!
The reason why these are important is because you need to think of your subject, what are you photographing, when will it be the best time to go?
Let me give some examples:-
I live on the North East coast. There are some great castles here, problem is, the ‘best’ castle, Bamburgh, looks out to sea over a beach. This means, that usually by the time I get my lasy ass out of bed, and up the coast, it’s at least mid-day, and the sun is in the sky, or if I’m really lazy, its worked its way over the back of the castle, out towards the west. Therefore, to shoot the castle with the sun at my back, I had to get up early in the morning.
Another example, how do you take photos of a city without people in it and also without feeling self conscious about what you look like taking photos? I asked myself that question, and I went out after midnight on a Sunday night, it was great, park where ever I wanted to, no people and not that many drunks around (unlike a Friday/Saturday).
Those are just two examples of how forethought can affect your choice of what you do and how you do it.
Generally I like to shoot scapes in the ‘Golden hours’ i.e. the time around sunrise and sunset. The light is usually less intense at that time, you get better contrast and shadowing, plus the light often throws you a few treats.
Get it right at the time, rather than relying on photoshop to do it for you
The subject
More questions I’m afraid ….
Do you want to shoot the subject from it’s ‘classic’ view or from a new perspective? The former should be easy, but might be difficult to get to because of other people snapping away, the latter might be more interesting, but will require some lateral thinking (also don’t forget that classic shots of landscapes etc are ‘classic’ because they work!)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/tyne-angles.jpg
Top is a classic view of the Tyne bridge, Bottom is one that's not often seen.
Orientation.
Hmm, real difficult question this one, do you want to shoot a landscape in …. ‘landscape’ or …. ‘portrait’? This one might not be as simple as it seems, however, I still find landscape shots of landscape much more pleasing than those of the other orientation.
Filters
For a bright sky or a waterscape, a circular polarise can change your image dramatically.
If you are shooting on a windy day or flowing water, use a neutral density filter to allow you a longer exposure time and get that silky sky/water you see so often without blowing your highlights.
Horizon
I cannot stress this enough, please please please get them straight! Try your best at the time. To do this you can a) use your eye b) use the horizontal line on some viewfinders, c) some ‘expensive’ cams have a built in digital horizon, d) some tripods (which you should be using) have built in spirit levels e) you can buy cheap spirit levels that fit into your hot shoe on ebay. If ALL that fails, you can shoot and rectify in photoshop, but be mindful that you may have to crop in PS when taking the shot, so you don’t end up having to crop the edges off your pic, which would render it useless.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/wonky.jpg
An example of a wonky horizon, notice how the pic looks better when it's straight (and i feel less seasick!)
Shooting the sun
I was told a few years ago that taking the photos of the sun “is not big, and it’s not clever!” Well I’d like to disagree and flip the bird to that person, done without blowing it, and getting some good exposure of the foreground with (a bit of ) lens flare can give some good results, especially if shooting in the Golden hours!
UR disclaimer - ([I]as pointed out to me by Tony) - about shooting into the sun, if you point a telephoto into the sun you could melt your mirror there is a million to one chance of it happening, but "it could be you!". Also, you could melt your eyeball :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/sunclever.jpg
Shooting the sun, "it's not big and it's not clever!!.." ... or is it?
Composition
This is an artistic debate best left for another thread I think, but generally speaking, keep your focal point in or around one of the thirds of the pic (NOT IN THE CENTRE!).
Here is a couple of pics of me, 'tossing the caber'. Ignore the artistic alterations.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/thirds.jpg
This is from a set of pics i was doing for a stairway.
The pic on the left has the focal point in the middle, where as pic on the right, i have (mathematically) the focal point on one of the thirds (this is a similar principle applied to aquascaping too)
Focus
Generally speaking, keeping your camera focused at infinity and by using a small aperture you will get EVERYTHING in your pic that you want to. The ‘artistic flair’ comes into play by altering these two and ‘adding’ things into the foreground.
Shutterspeed
Do you want to capture that wave in mid splash? Or do you want a silky swirl of water? Good light and fast shutter speeds with give you the former, whilst a slower speed will give you the former. Please remember it is impossible to shoot good slow shutter speed landscape pics (or pics in general) from the hip, you NEED to stabilise the cam. Camera shake is especially bad when shooting in and around 1/60-1/2 shake can be real bad, and even with the best will and lens in the world, it is real difficult to get a super sharp image, some things that may help.
USE A TRIPOD! ;)
Take cover from wind if possible. Make your own wind break if necessary (i.e. get the wife/husband to stand in the way)
Use a heavy tripod (not always desirable if hiking etc)
Keep the tripod as un-extended as possible
Pack your rucksack inbetween the legs of the tripod
Use ‘mirror-lockup’. Not really a topic for this thread, but it basically involves locking your mirror away so it doesn’t create internal vibrations when slapping against the interior of the cam, therefore you only have to contend with the vibrations of the shutters.
Be mindful of your surroundings, if you are trying to shoot Kilimanjaro and you have a herd of wild rampant wildebeest charging at you from behind, or a steam roller plodding past your position, you can bet you are unlikely to get a sharp pic.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/spalsh.jpg
A splashy wave caught with a fast shutter speed in good light, and a silky river caught with a slow shutter speed on a overcast day.
Colour or monotone landscapes?
It’s a matter of personal opinion, and one I am very much still battling with. It’s very easy to get a good colour landscape with a good subject, but conversely it’s very easy to make a good subject look bad with black and white photography, leaving it flat and uninteresting. In short, stick to colour if you are still trying to get to grips with the basics, then progress from there to mono landscapes.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/beaches.jpg
Colour or black and white? I don't know!
Jpeg, RAW or (RAW + Jpeg) ??
This obviously depends on your cameras ability, but I personally would recommend shooting in RAW, as it offers you much more flexibility after you have taken the shot. However, there are downsides to RAW, it produces rather large files, it is not easily read by your operating system (meaning you can’t view it directly in Windows, without certain add-ins or special viewing programs), some photoprocessing software will not accept RAWs either. So, if you are not confident with RAW then stay JPEG and get more images on your card. The technicalities of RAW will be left for a discussion another day.
Can I ‘HDR’ it?
Well that depends on a few things. Do you know what HDR is? Have you taken a pic with HDR in mind? Or are you going to create a false HDR from a RAW file? My advice is, that if you know what you are doing with HDR, then go out with the intention of shooting by bracketing your pics, so you can get a true representational dynamic range, rather than a flase one. For those of you who don’t know what you are doing with HDR, then either look it up, or don’t. The discussion of HDR, the technical and ‘ethics’ of it, is for another day.
-------------------------------------------------------
There are a multitude of aspects I haven’t covered here (for example, RAW files, IR photography, post processing etc etc), hopefully I have generated a lot more questions than I have answered, that’s all part of the fun.
For me the best part of landscape photography (and this is where I go all ‘hippy’) is getting out and amongst it. What better excuse for a stroll in the great outdoors than to come back with a bunch of amazing photos? When getting out and about, I tend to go out by myself and ‘absorb’ my surroundings, that way when you get back and look at your pics, you remember how that particular place made you feel at that particular time and you can chose/edit your photos to reflect those sentiments, and it will be those pics that will more often than not turn out to be your best.
Before I go I have to do my “dib-dib, dob-dob” bit.
When out and about in the countryside ……..
“leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures ….”
Happy snapping :)
This article is by no means written in stone, it’s just a few notes on how I approach landscape photography, hopefully it may give some people the drive/will to get out there with their cams and take some snaps.
What is landscape photography?
Well, it’s photography of the scape of ……. Yup you guessed it, land! However, when I refer to landscapes, I’m referring to those big wide angle shots of the wilderness, waterscapes, historic buildings set in the landscape and also cityscapes.
It all starts with a thought.
Before you even think about landscape photography (or any other sort for that matter), you will need to tailor your equipment to the area of interest. For example, carrying huge flashes and umbrellas in a satchel are fine if you are visiting houses to do portraiture, but when you are clambering through bush and trees to get a unique shot, it won’t be that helpful.
What do you need?
I will list the minimal stuff here, you may need extra equipment based on your environment (i.e. waterproofs, compass, etc etc), but I’ll let your common sense work that one out.
1 x camera
1 x lens (or more , or less
- the wider the better
1 or 2 x Filters – not [I]REALLY that important these days with the use of photoshop, but two investments you should definitely make are a circular polarising filter and a neutral density filter.
1 x tripod (very important, and underestimated by many people)
- failing that – 1 x monopod
- failing that – 1 x gorillapod
- failing that – a beanbag
1 x cable release (or a timer function and patience)
1 x memory card with a decent capacity (or seven)
1 x backpack (to put it all in) – very useful whilst on the go
1 x lens cleaning kit – nothing more annoying than not being able to clean your lens after you have been wiped out with spray from a river/waterfall/wave.
Ok, you have your thought, you have your equipment what’s next?
Think again.........
Where are you going to go?
Will the place be a tourist hotspot? (generally or on a specific day, i.e. Bank Holiday)
What time are you going to go?
Where will the sun be?
Will you need your filters?
What style of photography do you fancy today?
All these questions before you have even left the house!
The reason why these are important is because you need to think of your subject, what are you photographing, when will it be the best time to go?
Let me give some examples:-
I live on the North East coast. There are some great castles here, problem is, the ‘best’ castle, Bamburgh, looks out to sea over a beach. This means, that usually by the time I get my lasy ass out of bed, and up the coast, it’s at least mid-day, and the sun is in the sky, or if I’m really lazy, its worked its way over the back of the castle, out towards the west. Therefore, to shoot the castle with the sun at my back, I had to get up early in the morning.
Another example, how do you take photos of a city without people in it and also without feeling self conscious about what you look like taking photos? I asked myself that question, and I went out after midnight on a Sunday night, it was great, park where ever I wanted to, no people and not that many drunks around (unlike a Friday/Saturday).
Those are just two examples of how forethought can affect your choice of what you do and how you do it.
Generally I like to shoot scapes in the ‘Golden hours’ i.e. the time around sunrise and sunset. The light is usually less intense at that time, you get better contrast and shadowing, plus the light often throws you a few treats.
Get it right at the time, rather than relying on photoshop to do it for you
The subject
More questions I’m afraid ….
Do you want to shoot the subject from it’s ‘classic’ view or from a new perspective? The former should be easy, but might be difficult to get to because of other people snapping away, the latter might be more interesting, but will require some lateral thinking (also don’t forget that classic shots of landscapes etc are ‘classic’ because they work!)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/tyne-angles.jpg
Top is a classic view of the Tyne bridge, Bottom is one that's not often seen.
Orientation.
Hmm, real difficult question this one, do you want to shoot a landscape in …. ‘landscape’ or …. ‘portrait’? This one might not be as simple as it seems, however, I still find landscape shots of landscape much more pleasing than those of the other orientation.
Filters
For a bright sky or a waterscape, a circular polarise can change your image dramatically.
If you are shooting on a windy day or flowing water, use a neutral density filter to allow you a longer exposure time and get that silky sky/water you see so often without blowing your highlights.
Horizon
I cannot stress this enough, please please please get them straight! Try your best at the time. To do this you can a) use your eye b) use the horizontal line on some viewfinders, c) some ‘expensive’ cams have a built in digital horizon, d) some tripods (which you should be using) have built in spirit levels e) you can buy cheap spirit levels that fit into your hot shoe on ebay. If ALL that fails, you can shoot and rectify in photoshop, but be mindful that you may have to crop in PS when taking the shot, so you don’t end up having to crop the edges off your pic, which would render it useless.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/wonky.jpg
An example of a wonky horizon, notice how the pic looks better when it's straight (and i feel less seasick!)
Shooting the sun
I was told a few years ago that taking the photos of the sun “is not big, and it’s not clever!” Well I’d like to disagree and flip the bird to that person, done without blowing it, and getting some good exposure of the foreground with (a bit of ) lens flare can give some good results, especially if shooting in the Golden hours!
UR disclaimer - ([I]as pointed out to me by Tony) - about shooting into the sun, if you point a telephoto into the sun you could melt your mirror there is a million to one chance of it happening, but "it could be you!". Also, you could melt your eyeball :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/sunclever.jpg
Shooting the sun, "it's not big and it's not clever!!.." ... or is it?
Composition
This is an artistic debate best left for another thread I think, but generally speaking, keep your focal point in or around one of the thirds of the pic (NOT IN THE CENTRE!).
Here is a couple of pics of me, 'tossing the caber'. Ignore the artistic alterations.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/thirds.jpg
This is from a set of pics i was doing for a stairway.
The pic on the left has the focal point in the middle, where as pic on the right, i have (mathematically) the focal point on one of the thirds (this is a similar principle applied to aquascaping too)
Focus
Generally speaking, keeping your camera focused at infinity and by using a small aperture you will get EVERYTHING in your pic that you want to. The ‘artistic flair’ comes into play by altering these two and ‘adding’ things into the foreground.
Shutterspeed
Do you want to capture that wave in mid splash? Or do you want a silky swirl of water? Good light and fast shutter speeds with give you the former, whilst a slower speed will give you the former. Please remember it is impossible to shoot good slow shutter speed landscape pics (or pics in general) from the hip, you NEED to stabilise the cam. Camera shake is especially bad when shooting in and around 1/60-1/2 shake can be real bad, and even with the best will and lens in the world, it is real difficult to get a super sharp image, some things that may help.
USE A TRIPOD! ;)
Take cover from wind if possible. Make your own wind break if necessary (i.e. get the wife/husband to stand in the way)
Use a heavy tripod (not always desirable if hiking etc)
Keep the tripod as un-extended as possible
Pack your rucksack inbetween the legs of the tripod
Use ‘mirror-lockup’. Not really a topic for this thread, but it basically involves locking your mirror away so it doesn’t create internal vibrations when slapping against the interior of the cam, therefore you only have to contend with the vibrations of the shutters.
Be mindful of your surroundings, if you are trying to shoot Kilimanjaro and you have a herd of wild rampant wildebeest charging at you from behind, or a steam roller plodding past your position, you can bet you are unlikely to get a sharp pic.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/spalsh.jpg
A splashy wave caught with a fast shutter speed in good light, and a silky river caught with a slow shutter speed on a overcast day.
Colour or monotone landscapes?
It’s a matter of personal opinion, and one I am very much still battling with. It’s very easy to get a good colour landscape with a good subject, but conversely it’s very easy to make a good subject look bad with black and white photography, leaving it flat and uninteresting. In short, stick to colour if you are still trying to get to grips with the basics, then progress from there to mono landscapes.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/beaches.jpg
Colour or black and white? I don't know!
Jpeg, RAW or (RAW + Jpeg) ??
This obviously depends on your cameras ability, but I personally would recommend shooting in RAW, as it offers you much more flexibility after you have taken the shot. However, there are downsides to RAW, it produces rather large files, it is not easily read by your operating system (meaning you can’t view it directly in Windows, without certain add-ins or special viewing programs), some photoprocessing software will not accept RAWs either. So, if you are not confident with RAW then stay JPEG and get more images on your card. The technicalities of RAW will be left for a discussion another day.
Can I ‘HDR’ it?
Well that depends on a few things. Do you know what HDR is? Have you taken a pic with HDR in mind? Or are you going to create a false HDR from a RAW file? My advice is, that if you know what you are doing with HDR, then go out with the intention of shooting by bracketing your pics, so you can get a true representational dynamic range, rather than a flase one. For those of you who don’t know what you are doing with HDR, then either look it up, or don’t. The discussion of HDR, the technical and ‘ethics’ of it, is for another day.
-------------------------------------------------------
There are a multitude of aspects I haven’t covered here (for example, RAW files, IR photography, post processing etc etc), hopefully I have generated a lot more questions than I have answered, that’s all part of the fun.
For me the best part of landscape photography (and this is where I go all ‘hippy’) is getting out and amongst it. What better excuse for a stroll in the great outdoors than to come back with a bunch of amazing photos? When getting out and about, I tend to go out by myself and ‘absorb’ my surroundings, that way when you get back and look at your pics, you remember how that particular place made you feel at that particular time and you can chose/edit your photos to reflect those sentiments, and it will be those pics that will more often than not turn out to be your best.
Before I go I have to do my “dib-dib, dob-dob” bit.
When out and about in the countryside ……..
“leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures ….”
Happy snapping :)