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Forum: Photographic Technique
06-02-2019, 01:35 PM
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I read this post when it originally appeared on the forum. I didn't have time to respond then but I can see that you have gotten some great advise from forum members, Wheatfields, Clackers, Pschlute and others.
I understand where you are coming from. Landscape photography always seems as though it should be easy and natural.... find a area of natural interest...point a camera, click, review and.... voila! No, it clearly is not easy for so many of the reasons offered by those that answered your thread before me.
After graduate school, I left my field and went back for a degree in photography and have worked as a photographer for 40 years. Even with studies and a head full of photography knowledge I have struggled and still struggle to make decent landscapes. Techniques have to be learned and practiced in the field, and as Dartmoor Dave stated... plenty of self (constructive) criticism.
My interest in landscapes started a few years back when I knew I would be retiring and looking for something to keep myself occupied. My skill set involved scientific and industrial photography which don't really translate to landscape work. I had excellent kit, but much of todays landscape imaging requires post production skills that eluded me (beyond the basics of PS, because life gets in the way) and still does. I think that it is fair to say that that skill set (PP) is necessary in addition to just going out there and shooting even as your camera skills evolve.
The most interesting thing that I have read on this thread, Is one that I agree with. Don't get fooled into thinking that wide angle lenses make for great landscapes. They have there place, but I don't often use them except if I know I am going to be in tight conditions... ravines, slot canyons, deep woods etc. Usually I just take a 31mm, 43mm (on cropped frame camera) or greater focal length and shoot multiple images and stitch them to get the perspective that an ultrawide will not provide. Clacker's image of the tree was an excellent example that used focal length perspective to separate the tree from the background.
Now back to your quote at the top that I made bold. I was out hiking with my wife two days ago. I was trying my DFA 28-45 outdoors for the first time (I knew I would be in a ravine) and when I was setting up and using the iphone as a light meter, I recalled your above statements from the initial thread and did a snapshot of the scene I was composing. I uploaded the iPhone image here and the actual image I took on the Z. The point here is that the iPhone snapshot doesn't convey the feeling or mood that I was experiencing creekside.I would have been disappointed if I looked at it at home and it was the only image I had. So, don't use your camera for snapshots unless that is what you specifically want. Take your time, learn to see and compose what you want as a final outcome. I am not a landscape photographer by any means but my rendition is closer to the mood and the ambience I felt in the glen.
There are no really easy ways to get great landscape images. The more you delve into it the more layers of the “onion” you will keep revealing. So many factors determine the satisfactory outcome of an image. These include weather, lighting, time of year, choice of gear, location demands, camera skill sets, photography knowledge skill sets, and post production and copious quantities of patience . Each of these factors could be subdivided ad infinitum. So just enjoy the process and the knowledge gained.
So, with the wealth of advice that the forum members have given, just get out there and keep composing and shooting. It is a lengthy journey and it begins with the first step.
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