![]() ![]() Even so, remember that viewers need something on which to focus. In most cases, the huge scope of the scene is one of the things you're trying to communicate. Plains and Prairies Wide-open spaces, such as plains and prairies, are among the hardest landscapes of all to photograph well because often they lack an obvious point of interest. Lie down and look straight up through the branches climb a tree to look down the path. A wide lens looking up at the trees will make them soar a telephoto will compress a row of trunks. Whether you are shooting toward a forest or shooting from inside it, look for patterns, lines, and other compositional elements you can use. ![]() Look for shafts of light penetrating the canopy or one spot on the forest floor directly lit by the sun. Whatever it is, compose in such a way to lead the viewer to it. It might be one slightly different tree trunk, a path winding through, or a splash of color on a flowering vine. Should it feel dark and brooding, or light and airy? Are there any special features that will help express how you feel about it? As with any photograph, find a point of interest. First, think about the character of the forest you want to shoot and the feeling you want to convey in your image. Forests Photographing forests presents a different set of challenges. Use a polarizing filter to eliminate some of the reflection and increase contrast rotate it until you have the effect you want. You may have to move around a bit to include or eliminate them, or return when the sun is at a different angle. You can use some reflections to enhance the image-the colors of reflected autumn leaves, for instance-but others may just be distracting. Look carefully for reflections in the water. The water can be the center of interest in the image, or it can serve as an element in your composition-as a diagonal or other leading line, as a horizontal line, or as a shape that complements other elements in the frame. A big, slow river looks and feels different from a fast-moving mountain stream. LANDSCAPE SUBJECTS Flowing Water If a river or stream flows through the landscape you are shooting, think about the character of it and how to convey that character in the image. Unless this is the effect you want, you'll either have to modify your composition, shoot it later in the day, or plan to return on an overcast day when both sides will be photographable. Photographing a canyon, for example, you might see that the west wall will be beautifully lit in the early morning, if the canyon is deep, however, the east wall will be in such complete shadow that your camera will be capable of rendering it only as a great black blob. This can take some practice because you also have to look at where the light will not be falling. Carry a compass to figure out where the sun will rise and set, and imagine how the place would look in different kinds of light. When you arrive in a place you've never visited before, spend time scouting-driving or hiking to different locations, finding different vantage points. ![]() Time is the most important investment you can make in getting good landscape pictures. Lenses and sensors or film cannot do this by themselves. Our field of vision encompasses a great deal of the scene, but our eyes and brains have the ability to ignore all except the most alluring details. Why? When we look at a landscape, our eyes travel over it and selectively focus on the elements that we find appealing. All the elements that enthralled you at the time are there, but not the feeling. You get home, look at the pictures, and find them flat and boring. FROM PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD GUIDE: LANDSCAPES AND ULTIMATE PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD GUIDE: LANDSCAPESĨ MIN READ We've all had the experience: Driving through a beautiful landscape, you stop at every scenic overlook to make photographs sure to capture the grandeur of what you see. ![]()
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