Photography Book -- Part 4

This part of the book is all about light on the land. The first section is titled "Finding Photogenic Landscapes". It is ten clues to evaluate the photographic potential of any landscape setting. First, the presence of strong color is the best indicator of the landscape's potential for surrendering a great photograph. Remember that red is the most attractive color to humans. Then we have clouds. They make all the difference. Nothing energizes an impending landscape-shooting session more than clouds. For landscape photographers, a still atmosphere offers added design possibilities. It means that you can shoot with great depth of field subjects that you might otherwise have to edit from the composition because they move around in the wind and cannot be sharply recorded during long exposures.

Fog, mist,haze and falling snow infuse ordinary landscapes with moody energy. Such meteorological events add novel distinction to scenic photographs. Search for a camera position that is north or south of the target landscape. This camera angle will record landforms when they are illuminated by sidelight. When you find a landscape feature that appeals to you check to see if the east and west horizons are clear of light-obscuring landforms. These offensive topographies are most apt to handle your shooting aspirations when shooting in mountainous regions. The best landscape photos are make in locales that harbor interesting foreground details Micro features can be used to set up the scale of a scene, establishing important perspective cues that infuse a flat plane of pixels with a convincing sense of three dimension.

Check your calendar for periods when the moon shows itself in the sky. In rare instances it will appear in your viewfinder over the landscape in just the right place. Beaver ponds, bernal pools, lakes, lagoons. river backwaters, and tide pools are all indicators of fantastic scenic shooting. Opportunities to capture a beautiful landscape that also includes wildlife are rare. Even in rural areas it is difficult to come upon landscapes that are free of human artifacts-- telephone poles, highways, dams and all manner of buildings.

The second section is titled "The Power of Perspectives" and is about how to infuse your landscape photos with the impression of three dimensions. Using size cues and different angles for your point of view are easy ways for you to put some creativity into your photography. When shooting landscape use upwards of five or six layers to give the photo depth and perspective. The author of the book talks about using five planes for deep perspective. The foreground plane should feature interesting landscape details that set the scale for the compostion; the midground plane should contain well defined size cues that lead the eye into the picture; the freature plane should show the center of interest, usually a dramatic landform; the cloud plane should ideally be a puffy collection of cumulus or nimbus; and the sky plane should compromise the final backdrop in pure shades of rose, blue, peach or amber, depending on the time of day.

The last section is titled "Nature's Mystical Mirrors" and is about how to record dramatic reflections of the landscape. Water is the best form of a natural mirror. Other reflectors include ice or crystal formations. The biggest factor to take into consideration when trying to get a good reflection shot is light. Filters are probably going to be a huge part of your reflection shooting process.