Mastering Landscape Photography

176 Pages·2015·26.97 MB·English

by  David Taylor

MASTERING LANDSCAPE
PHOTOGRAPHY
DAVID TAYLOR
Above: One of the pleasures of shooting landscape images
is that you can spend time doing something pleasurable in
a beautiful location. You also have a concrete reminder of
that moment as a keepsake, in the form of your photograph.
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MASTERING LANDSCAPE
PHOTOGRAPHY
DAVID TAYLOR
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First published 2014 by
Ammonite Press
an imprint of AE Publications Ltd
166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1XU, UK
Text and images © David Taylor, 2014 (unless otherwise specified)
Copyright © in the Work AE Publications Ltd, 2014
All rights reserved.
The rights of David Taylor to be identified as the author of this work have
been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents
Act 1988, Sections 77 and 78.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior
permission of the publishers and copyright owner.
While every effort has been made to obtain permission from the copyright
holders for all material used in this book, the publishers will be pleased to
hear from anyone who has not been appropriately acknowledged, and to
make the correction in future reprints.
The publishers and author can accept no legal responsibility for any
consequences arising from the application of information, advice, or
instructions given in this publication.
British Library Cataloging in Publication Data: A catalog record of this
book is available from the British Library.
Editor: Chris Gatcum
Series Editor: Richard Wiles
Designer: Robin Shields
Typeface: Helvetica Neue
Color reproduction by GMC Reprographics
Contents
Chapter 4 Chapter 7
Introduction 6
Preparation 72 Filters 138
Chapter 1
The Sun 74 Using Filters 140
On Location 76 UV & Skylight Filters 141
Equipment 12 File Formats 84 ND Filters 142
Cameras 14 Picture Controls 86 Extreme ND Filters 143
Lenses 16 Graduated ND Filters 144
Tripods 21 Polarizing Filters 146
Chapter 5
Other Accessories 22
Camera Care 23
Chapter 8
Subjects 88
Coastal 90
Chapter 2
Woodland 94 Postproduction 148
Hills & Mountains 96 Postproduction Fundamentals 150
Exposure 24 Lakes, Rivers & Waterfalls 98 Basic Image Corrections 154
First Principles 26 People & Animals 100 Black & White 158
Exposure Meters 27 Sunrise & Sunset 101 Output 162
Exposure Modes 29 The Seasons 102 Preparing to Print 164
Aperture 32 Buildings in the Landscape 104
Shutter Speed 38 Bad Weather Days 105
ISO 40 Night Photography 106 Glossary 170
Exposure Values 42 Details 108
Dynamic Range 46 Panoramic Images 110 Useful Web Sites 172
Histograms 48
Exposing to the Right 50 Index 173
Chapter 6
Dealing with Contrast 52
Acknowledgments 176
Composition 112
Chapter 3
Compositional Rules 114
Aspect Ratio 120
Light 54 Orientation 122
What is Light? 56 Visual Weight 124
The Qualities of Light 58 Balance 126
Color Temperature 64 Color 128
Time of Day 68 Symmetry 130
Weather & Light 70 Lines 132
Creating Depth 134
Minimalism 136
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Introduction
Photographers often go through two stages as potential subjects, but above all, empathy for
they start to explore photography. The fi rst stage the natural world is essential. Without that I
is relatively simple to defi ne: it’s the learning don’t think a landscape photographer can make
stage. This is when the technical issues involved images that will inspire others. Ultimately, to be
in making photographic images are grappled with fulfilled creatively, a landscape photographer has
and mastered. to move beyond being a mere technician to find
The second stage is slightly subtler. It requires his or her own artistic voice.
the photographer to ask himself or herself a
philosophical question: what kind of photographer
am I? If the answer is “landscape photographer,”
then this is the book for you.
Defi ning Skills
All photographers need to know the basic
technical skills of the craft. However, as strange
as it may seem, this is actually the easy bit, as
there’s a logic behind things such as exposure
or focusing. Even if they seem mystifying initially,
these skills can be learned.
Less easy to defi ne are the skills that need
to be learned once you’ve decided what sort of
photographer you are. A wedding photographer
needs to have the same basic photographic
skills as a landscape photographer, but that
doesn’t mean that one would be able to do
the other’s job. Wedding photographers need
to be able to get the best out of people and to
have the patience and organizational skills of a
saintly general. I’m full of admiration for wedding
photographers—it’s not something I’d wish to do
on a regular basis, if ever!
A landscape photographer, however, needs to
understand how the landscape is affected by the Right: One aspect of landscape photography that I
weather, the seasons, and the light falling upon fi nd endlessly fascinating is the way the light changes
it. Navigational skills are also useful for finding throughout the day, affecting the mood of an image.
6 MASTERING LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
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INTRODUCTION 7
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Slowing Down
Landscape photography gives you permission to
temporarily cut yourself off from the modern world.
Being out in the landscape early in the morning
or late in the evening means you’re often on your
own, with only your thoughts for company. These
are all good things: creativity requires a certain
amount of peaceful contemplation to fl ourish. It’s
incredibly diffi cult to be creative in a noisy, busy
offi ce if others constantly disturb you.
It is important to allow yourself time at your
chosen location without feeling a desperate panic
to shoot. This means arriving in good time so you
can wander around, take in the atmosphere, and
allow your subconscious to get to work. In fact
there’s something to be said for not shooting for
at least ten—even 20—minutes after you arrive.
It’s all too tempting to fi re your camera like
a machine gun, hoping that if you shoot often
enough you will create at least one worthwhile
image. Don’t give in to that temptation. A few
good images will always be more satisfying than
scores of mediocre ones.
This is another good reason to arrive in good
time: if you’ve got time to think and to contemplate,
you’ll panic less and shoot fewer images. An even
more compelling reason to slow down is that
every image you shoot will have to be assessed
and either rejected or processed at some point
in the future. Overshooting will expand the time
this takes, and this could be time better spent
outdoors shooting instead!
Left: Walking can be incredibly helpful to the creative
process, particularly if you take time to look around you
as you walk. This image was shot on an afternoon’s stroll
because I did just that.
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Above: Landscape photography isn’t an immediate social
experience in the way that portrait or wedding photography
is. The pleasure of sharing comes later, when you show
your images to friends, family, or via social media. And your
work should be shared: spreading the wonder of the natural
world will encourage others to explore it for themselves.
INTRODUCTION 9
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Heroes & Heroines
Landscape photography as a genre is almost The work of a really great photographer, more previously unknown technique to try. Hopefully this
as old as photography itself. This means that we often than not, still seems like magic to me. I book will reveal aspects of landscape photography
have our pick of nearly two centuries of images sometimes look at a particularly inspiring image that you were unaware of, and inspire you to put
to look at and learn from, and everyone should by one of my photographic heroes and can’t see them into practice.
have heroes and heroines to inspire them. The immediately how the trick was done. How did
Internet has made this easier, of course, but there’s the photographer see the shot in the fi rst place?
arguably nothing better than curling up with a book What exposure settings were used? Were fi lters
about landscape photography and taking in the involved? What time of day or year was the image
work of others. For me, this is a particular treat made? In a negative frame of mind this could be
on dark, wintry evenings when the weather isn’t intimidating, but I think it’s wonderful, as it means
cooperating and inspiration is lacking. there’s still something new to learn or some
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