Landscape

This post refers to a gallery that existed on the earlier site woolypigimages.com and has now been restyled for northandsouthlife. The link in the post below now redirects to the new gallery

Well, time for another gallery to come online! Landscape is a relatively new adventure for us, so please don’t set your expectations too high this time around! As you see, we have not visited many places yet, but hopefully this gallery will become more varied in time as we learn more and travel further afield…

One of the first things you learn when you set out to capture landscapes is that it is not just a matter of pointing your camera at a nice scene and taking the shot… For one thing, many of the most appealing views have really difficult light. That sunset may look wonderful to you, but it is far from easy to capture – even with the latest digital cameras. That’s why landscape photographers carry all those filters around with them – to manage the light. Sometimes it is to capture the scene as it appears, and at other times to create a scene unlike anything you have seen before.

Anyway, landscape has taught us a few things already, but it seems clear that you could be learning about it for a lifetime (like almost any other aspect of photography – even when you master the technique there is sure to be an endless fund of artistic expression to mine for years to come).

For now, here are some of the first ‘quick wins’ along the way:

1. Using filters – especially neutral density filters to shape the light and make the ‘un-filmable’ possible. We have been using Lee filters, which slot into a frame on the lens to allow you to position them as you see fit. Yes, it slows you down but it really extends the scope of what you can capture

2. The delights of a good tripod – and how to use a camera on one properly. Landscape often demands a really solid tripod, and all the techniques you can use to help get the shot sharp – mirror lock-up, manual focussing with live view, managing the depth of field

3. Seeing in a new way, especially with wide angle lenses, to capture the expanse of the landscape and lead the viewer from near foreground to the far horizon

4. Learning that the best rucksack isn’t necessarily the one with the most gizmos – just the one that will take all your gear easily and comfortably

5. Learning how to ‘see’ in infrared (using a an older DSLR converted for IR imaging, a much easier way to work than using infrared filters!)

Anyway, we hope you like the new gallery… find it here

#landscape #nature #technique