Landscape Photography Tips and Workshops

Are you a fan of landscape photos? Personally, I am someone that likes to photograph landscapes more than any other subject... probably because they don't talk back like people, or flutter around like a bird. :-)

I always try to look for creative ways to shoot the landscape. It does not always work out, but sometimes  I catch a view point not many people get a photograph of... and those photos my friends are what separates a good photographer from a  great photographer.

So let’s take a look at some tips that have been handed down to me for shooting landscape photos from fellow photographers and some professionals.

Tip 1: Bring a Tripod

Always bring a tripod if you plan on shooting landscapes. Even if the day is sunny, you may need to use a small aperture to achieve a much larger depth of field. In these instances, you may be using a low shutter speed – which leads to camera shake if you can’t hold the camera stable in your hands.

Hence the need for a tripod. I would suggest a ball head on the tripod as it allows for more versatility in moving the camera around and helping you capture a more unique looking composition.

Tip 2: Cable Release

One good tip is to carry a cable release. Instead of using the timer function on the camera, use the cable release. This ensures that you can trigger the shutter at precisely the right timing. In turn, this leads to reduced camera shake and a more beautiful "tack sharp" photo. If you do not have a cable release or a remote shutter activator, the timer on your camera does work as well.

For those of you that are more advanced, locking up the mirror increases your chances of getting a sharper image as well.

Tip 3: Use the Right Filters

Filters are important when taking landscape photos. There are different types of filters that I use – polarizers, neutral density filters and graduated neutral density filters. There are screw on filters and handheld ones as well. I prefer to use the hand held filters to give myself more control of gettign the properly exposed photo right in the camera.

Polarizers are useful for reducing glare from water and other reflective surfaces. These create a more well-balanced and beautiful picture.

Neutral density filters will stop a specified amount of light entering the camera. I tend to use these for shooting waterfalls on a sunny day, high noon sun and occasionally in the winter months when the snow glare is blinding.

Graduated neutral density filters are a slight variation of this – they are dark on top and clear on the bottom, creating a ‘gradual transition’ from the dark to clear area. These filters are good for blocking out bright parts of a scene (say the sky) to create a more evenly exposed picture.

Tip 4: Research the Landscape

One thing to do before taking landscape photos is to do some background research on the landscape. If you’re taking pictures of the Niagara Falls, or the Grand Canyon, try to do some background study on what the most scenic spots are, where does the sun rise and sun set around the subject, etc... There are many sites where you can investigate vantage points. Sites like flickr or google images will allow you to see photos and give yousomething to emulate.

It’s also good to check out the weather conditions of the place you want to photograph. Check the weather network and look at the hour by hour schedule to see what you can expect when you want to visit your location – if the weather doesn’t look good, you may want to try shooting another day.

But, for the diehards like me that like to shoot landscapes, if I know its going to rain, or is going to be foggy... i put on the rain gear, grab the umbrella and get out in the rain. Atmospheric conditions offer fantastic settings that create great depth of field, offer a view not many people photograph... and more importantly greatly reduces the chances of photographing the local family out for a hike with their two dogs and 4 kids.

Tip 5: Lenses

For shooting landscape photos, it’s usually best to bring wide-angle lenses. I also bring along a telephoto lens in case I want to shoot some creative, "zoomed-in" shots.

Tip 6: Composition

I think the most important thing to remember is that composition rules are still important in landscape photos. Make sure you have something in the foreground, mid-ground and background.

Also, when taking photos of landscapes or a photo of a natural setting... have these three things in the back of your mind as you are composing your photo. (1) where is the bright spot... does it draw the eye into the image. FYI, the eye is naturally drawn to light and using light to draw someone's eye into your photograph is a good way to increase the quality of your work, (2) Is the image that sits in front of you giving you a 3 dimensional feeling. Creating a 3d (ish) effect creates more visual appeal, and (3) try and take a photo of your subject from a unique perspective. I mean, if you want the standard cookie cutter photo, set up and snap the photo... but if you want a different look of a subject that has been photographed to death... take some time and study the subject and see if you can find an angle that you may not have thought of at first glance.

Tip 7: Shoot at the Right Time

For landscape photography, an important thing to remember is that you should avoid shooting during mid-day. There is a lot of harsh lighting and bad shadow effects during that period. Early morning or late afternoon tends to be best. So be prepared to miss a few dinners or breakfasts.

I personally shoot all my landscape, OK, well almost all my landscape photos in and around the golden hour... that hour that happens 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunrise  or 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunset.

Conclusion

As you can see, landscape photography poses its own challenges. However, bear the above tips in mind the next time you’re taking these photos, and I’m sure you’ll be much happier with your photos when you get home and look at them on the computer!

 

Why don't you join me on our Canadian Adventure workshops... we focus on nature and landscape in some of Canada's most beautiful locations.

 

2013 Canadian Adventure - http://www.photographers-lounge.com/canadian-workshops/2013-canadian-adventure-ontario/

 

2014 Canadian Adventure - http://www.photographers-lounge.com/canadian-workshops/2014-canadian-adventure-tofino/

Long Exposure Landscape Photography

The word Photography is derived from two Greek words, photo - meaning “light” and graphy - meaning “to draw”. Enter long exposure photography in the digital age, and what better way to allow the light to draw the scene than letting the light scribe the definition and contours of the landscape in front of you.

Long exposure images elongate the moment that a photograph was taken until the reality of the scene before you takes on a surreal twist. Some even say they are an art form unto itself. Running water becomes a silky substance, raging oceans turn into calm pools of glass, stationary cumulous clouds turn into streaking light across the blue hour or night sky, and for the patient, even the bright stars above us can be transformed into bright trails that arc around the north star in the sky.

Personally, there are two reasons I enjoy long exposures. One reason is that it gives us the ability to remove texture from certain parts of the image. Take a waterfall, you can replace hard, high contrast falling water with a silky flow and then allow the eye to focus on the textures and structures of another part of the image. Or even take the water of an ocean, undulating, crashing waves can easily be transformed to placid glass and allow a wooden pier or rocks on a beach to punch out onto the image. The second reason I enjoy long exposure photography is that it allows you to control the introduction of light into an otherwise dull image. It evokes emotion in a photo and can, if done properly, force the eyes right through an image.

Hilton Falls, Milton, Ontario

Dave in Action, 3.2 second exposure, taken mid morning on a sunny day, ND8 filter

Fifty Point Conservation Area, Grimsby, Ontario

Nature Reclaims Industry, 15 second exposure, one hour after sunrise on a cloudy day, ND4 and graduated ND2 filter












White Lake, Haliburton Highlands, Ontario

Ethereal Reflections, 240 second exposure, taken 45 minutes before sunrise on a clear night, ND4 and graduated ND2 filter












Salerno Lake, Irondale Ontario

Midnight Winds, 240 second exposure, taken after sunset on a spring night, no filter












OK, now that we know what long exposure can do to your images and you have seen a few examples… How do we accomplish this type of photography?

Tools of the trade

1. A DSLR camera with the ability to shoot in RAW, set long exposures including BULB setting and also manipulate ISO and aperture.
2. A sturdy tripod to hold the camera in place while you are taking the image
3. A cable release to eliminate camera shake (or, a camera with a shutter delay)
4. Neutral density (ND) filters and graduated neutral density filters (not necessary, but in time, you will want them)
5. A flashlight and a glow stick … You are mostly doing this at night, the glow stick sits on the neck of the tripod so you know where your camera is at all times. The flashlight is so you can see in the dark
6. Appropriate clothing… you do more standing than pushing the shutter button. It can get a little chilly if you show up dressed for daylight and two hours later its black and you are on a windy beach somewhere.
7. Editing software. Nature is rarely perfect. So, using the RAW editor and giving you the ability to further manipulate will empower you to give the image some final tweaks.

Let me go into some details on the “tools of the trade”. My ideal setup for long exposures is to use a wide angle lens, mount the camera on the tripod, lower the camera close to the ground for a better perspective and I manually focus on the foreground about 1/4 or 1/3 up from the bottom of the image.

I set my aperture to f20 or f22 and put my shutter speed to BULB. I set my ISO around 400 (I use Olympus). If you are a NIKON or Canon shooter, try higher and lower ISO’s and see what it does to the shutter speeds. Your ISO capabilities are superior to mine.

I meter the light at the foreground, focal point first, and then I meter just the sky. I use the appropriate ND filter that will give me the desired length of exposure, and then apply a graduated Neutral Density (ND) filter to adjust the exposure of the sky to match the foreground. There are a few manufacturers of ND filters. You can screw on ND filters or use square filters that sit in front of your lens. ND filters come in different levels, each eliminating a percentage of the natural light. The graduated ND filters are just that, graduated from clear to a set ND strength… these are sometimes overlooked but make a huge difference in the final image. Some photographers prefer to have more control and do this in an editing program, me, I am more of a purist and like to do this in the field.

Then, when I am set, I take the image, holding the shutter release for the appropriate time, check the image in the viewfinder, and then take one longer exposure and one shorter exposure. I usually do not take anything less than 100 images when I am on a shoot… remember, this is the digital age, it does not cost you anything to take an image other than time.

Then, when I am in front of the computer at home and I have all the images downloaded. I open everything in a RAW editor. The RAW editor will allow you to adjust clarity, exposure, blacks, fine tune the colour and give you a chance to create a top notch base image.

Once the RAW editing is done, and because nature is rarely perfect, you can now clone out imperfections, eliminate digital noise and do any other editing you wish to do to your image to create a final product you can share with your friends or hang on your wall.

To see more of my landscape and nature photos please visit my Gallery

For more information, please contact me on my website

Photographers Ephemeris - a must have for landscape photographers

I wanted to focus on a software program that I found out about from a fellow photographer, Gary Simmons. The software is called “photographers ephemeris”. It is a free landscape photographers software that you can download at www.stephentrainor.com
 
Landscape photography is performed on a schedule set not as much by you, the photographer but by celestial elements. A beautiful shot of the sun setting over the sea can only be shot at sunset. Similarly, the phase of the moon can turn a good mountain range picture into a spectacular vista. You can find times for sunrise and sunset and all the information you need about the phase and path of the moon from almanacs and online sources. But for information relative to, say, a topographical map of your intended shoot location, in combination with sun and moon locations and times, you need the Photographer’s Ephemeris.

This cross-platform Adobe AIR application lets landscape photographers plan the best time and location for shoots. It includes celestial data integrated with precise global positioning and satellite and terrain maps from Google Maps. It will seperate the newbie photographer from the more admired photographer.

The program has a simplistic visual appeal and an easy to use interface that allows a photographer to find vantage points for dusk and dawn photography. Want to know when the sun is rising on a specific day, and where to stand to capture the sun behind a specific object… this is as easy as 1-2-3.

Built on the Adobe Air platform, this freeware program runs on Mac, Win, and Linux, so long as the equally free Adobe Air utility is installed. I would suggest, and only if you can afford it, throw Stephen a couple dollars to help fund enhancements to this great product.

Chetlenham Badlands - Photographic Destinations in Ontario

Cheltenham Badlands is a small example of Badlands formation in Caledon, Ontario.
The site is located on the southside of Old Base Line Road (between Ontario Highway 10 and Creditview Road/Peel Regional Road 12) and features exposed and eroded Queenston Shale. The formation is located along the Niagara Escarpment.

“Badlands” is a geologic term for an area of soft rock devoid of vegetation and soil cover that has become molded into a rolling landscape of rounded hills and gullies. Such areas are rare in Ontario and this is one of the best examples. They exhibit the reddish hue of the Queenston Shale that forms them; the iron oxide in the shale produces this colour. The narrow greenish bands that can be seen throughout the shale are due to the change of red iron oxide to green iron oxide brought on by the circulating groundwater. The relatively soft shale is essentially clay and is easily eroded by water. This site was acquired by the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 2000 and is under the care of the Bruce Trail Association.

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The Badlands, near the villages of Inglewood and Cheltenham Ontario, are an Earth Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI), managed by the Bruce Trail Conservancy. In order to protect the sensitive environment of this site from degradation, visitors are requested to comply with the following: no sliding or digging, stay on the flat area in the vicinity of the interpretative signs, stay off the trail during wet conditions, no tobogganing, no motorized vehicles, no bicycles, no horses and please, do not litter. The Side Trail is closed due to erosion. Take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but your thanks.

Iceland Photo Tour - Rick Sammon, Kevin Pepper, Tim Vollmer

It is not that often that you get the opportunity to visit one of the worlds most beautiful locations... even more rare that you get to spend it with 3 professional photographers.

For this trip you will be one of twelve photographers to spend 10 days photographing shoulder to shoulder with the talented Rick Sammon, Tim Vollmer and Kevin Pepper.

We begin our tour on the lava scarred Reykjanes peninsula which lies on one of the world’s major plate boundaries, the Mid Atlantic Ridge. We will walk across a small footbridge between the two continents, see craters and an old lighthouse.

From there we travel through lava fields to the Blue Lagoon for a relaxing dip in 38°C therapeutic geothermal water. The Blue Lagoon is surrounded by a moss-covered lava field dating back to 1226.

But this is just the beginning...
You will visit the mountain Hengill geothermal area is one of the largest high-temperature fields in Iceland situated on an active volcanic ridge in SW Iceland.

We will also visit Þingvellir, Iceland’s first national park est. 1930. It is the site of the Viking Age parliament started in 930 AD and is located in a rift valley.

You will also see Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir geothermal area. The waterfall is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland, and Geysir geothermal area is known for its spouting springs. Strokkur (the Butter churn) spouts every 3–8 minutes up to a height of 25 metres.

From here we will travel on Fjallabaksleið nyrðri which means Northern road behind the mountains. Among the sights is Eldgjá canyon (fire canyon). Eldgjá is the largest volcanic canyon in the world, 40km long, 270m deep and 600m wide at its greatest. Ófærufoss waterfall is within the canyon, a magnificent waterfall.

As the trip winds down you will be amazed at Vatnajökull glacier National Park.

Vatnajökull glacier towers over this region and has immensely affected the landscape. We will visit many of Vatnajökull's outlets and outwash areas and the Jökulsárlón lagoon, a famous glacial lagoon full of icebergs were we can take a short boat tour and sail among the huge icebergs, an unforgettable experience!

The glacial scenery continues with a visit to the stunning Skaftafell, Iceland’s second largest national park were the landscape has been formed in thousands of years by different influences of fire and water (volcanic eruptions and the glaciers).

Your next to last stop is Dyrhólaey. This is a 120-meter high promontory, not far from Vík and is the southernmost part of the country. From the top you have a great photographic view.

After Dyrhólaey we drive to Skógafoss which is one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls in the country with a width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 meters. Due to the amount of spray the waterfall consistently produces a single or double rainbow which is normally visible on sunny days.

Check out out Itinerary.

Landscape Photography

Are you a fan of landscape photos? Personally, I am someone that likes to photograph landscapes more than any other subject... probably because they don't talk back like people, or flutter around like a bird. :-)

I always try to look for creative ways to shoot the landscape. It does not always work out, but sometimes  I catch a view point not many people get a photograph of... and those photos my friends are what separates a good photographer from a  great photographer.

So let’s take a look at some tips that have been handed down to me for shooting landscape photos from fellow photographers and some professionals.

Tip 1: Bring a Tripod

Always bring a tripod if you plan on shooting landscapes. Even if the day is sunny, you may need to use a small aperture to achieve a much larger depth of field. In these instances, you may be using a low shutter speed – which leads to camera shake if you can’t hold the camera stable in your hands.

Hence the need for a tripod. I would suggest a ball head on the tripod as it allows for more versatility in moving the camera around and helping you capture a more unique looking composition.

Tip 2: Cable Release

One good tip is to carry a cable release. Instead of using the timer function on the camera, use the cable release. This ensures that you can trigger the shutter at precisely the right timing. In turn, this leads to reduced camera shake and a more beautiful "tack sharp" photo. If you do not have a cable release or a remote shutter activator, the timer on your camera does work as well.

For those of you that are more advanced, locking up the mirror increases your chances of getting a sharper image as well.

Tip 3: Use the Right Filters

Filters are important when taking landscape photos. There are different types of filters that I use – polarizers, neutral density filters and graduated neutral density filters. There are screw on filters and handheld ones as well. I prefer to use the hand held filters to give myself more control of gettign the properly exposed photo right in the camera.

Polarizers are useful for reducing glare from water and other reflective surfaces. These create a more well-balanced and beautiful picture.

Neutral density filters will stop a specified amount of light entering the camera. I tend to use these for shooting waterfalls on a sunny day, high noon sun and occasionally in the winter months when the snow glare is blinding.

Graduated neutral density filters are a slight variation of this – they are dark on top and clear on the bottom, creating a ‘gradual transition’ from the dark to clear area. These filters are good for blocking out bright parts of a scene (say the sky) to create a more evenly exposed picture.

Tip 4: Research the Landscape

One thing to do before taking landscape photos is to do some background research on the landscape. If you’re taking pictures of the Niagara Falls, or the Grand Canyon, try to do some background study on what the most scenic spots are, where does the sun rise and sun set around the subject, etc... There are many sites where you can investigate vantage points. Sites like flickr or google images will allow you to see photos and give yousomething to emulate.

It’s also good to check out the weather conditions of the place you want to photograph. Check the weather network and look at the hour by hour schedule to see what you can expect when you want to visit your location – if the weather doesn’t look good, you may want to try shooting another day.

But, for the diehards like me that like to shoot landscapes, if I know its going to rain, or is going to be foggy... i put on the rain gear, grab the umbrella and get out in the rain. Atmospheric conditions offer fantastic settings that create great depth of field, offer a view not many people photograph... and more importantly greatly reduces the chances of photographing the local family out for a hike with their two dogs and 4 kids.

Tip 5: Lenses

For shooting landscape photos, it’s usually best to bring wide-angle lenses. I also bring along a telephoto lens in case I want to shoot some creative, "zoomed-in" shots.

Tip 6: Composition

I think the most important thing to remember is that composition rules are still important in landscape photos. Make sure you have something in the foreground, mid-ground and background.

Also, when taking photos of landscapes or a photo of a natural setting... have these three things in the back of your mind as you are composing your photo. (1) where is the bright spot... does it draw the eye into the image. FYI, the eye is naturally drawn to light and using light to draw someone's eye into your photograph is a good way to increase the quality of your work, (2) Is the image that sits in front of you giving you a 3 dimensional feeling. Creating a 3d (ish) effect creates more visual appeal, and (3) try and take a photo of your subject from a unique perspective. I mean, if you want the standard cookie cutter photo, set up and snap the photo... but if you want a different look of a subject that has been photographed to death... take some time and study the subject and see if you can find an angle that you may not have thought of at first glance.

Tip 7: Shoot at the Right Time

For landscape photography, an important thing to remember is that you should avoid shooting during mid-day. There is a lot of harsh lighting and bad shadow effects during that period. Early morning or late afternoon tends to be best. So be prepared to miss a few dinners or breakfasts.

I personally shoot all my landscape, OK, well almost all my landscape photos in and around the golden hour... that hour that happens 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunrise  or 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunset.

Conclusion

As you can see, landscape photography poses its own challenges. However, bear the above tips in mind the next time you’re taking these photos, and I’m sure you’ll be much happier with your photos when you get home and look at them on the computer!