Landscape Camera

[BoyNhisDog]

Some people have asked for a tutorial on taking photographs. Most of you are at least somewhat into landscape photography and for the most part, that is what I do along with taking detailed images of what is out in that landscape. These thoughts will be mostly about classic landscape photography.

For you digital shooters, learn to use your camera’s histogram. The human eye can see about ten stops of light values but the digital camera can only see about five and a half. With the histogram you can see if you have blown any of the highlights or lost any information in the shadows. Sometimes it will not be possible to get an image with all the ranges intact but the histogram will help you achieve what is most important to you. Luminous Landscape has an excellent overview of the histogram. See it HERE If you check your exposure and it needs adjusting, most cameras have an exposure adjustment you can use when in any automatic mode. You an usually adjust up to a couple of stops in 1/3 stop increments.

If you shoot RAW files you can change things like contrast settings and white balance later with no quality loss. If you shoot Jpeg then you will want to really get your shot right in the field. This means you may have to change your contrast settings if you have particularly bright aspects along with dark ones. If you are shooting a scene in shadow or one that is pretty flat you may want to up the contrast. For many shots the medium contrast setting will be what shows the scene to its fullest.

Stabilizing the camera is another important issue. For most landscapes you will want most everything in focus so stopping down your lens with Aperture priority will be the setting you will want. This will make your field of focus bigger catching foreground objects and the distant background better as well but it slows your shutter speed. A slower shutter speed is a big cause of camera shake or fuzzy images. A tripod that matches the camera will help you with these problems. Many people don’t want to bother with a tripod and that is one choice but if you want the crispest, sharpest images possible get a good tripod and make yourself use it. It will become second nature after a while. This will add bulk and weight to your pack of course. A heavier DSLR camera will need a more substantial tripod than a smaller, lighter point and shoot type camera.

Composition is something to really be studied. Look at photographs that you like and try to figure out what makes them special. Don’t expose every image at eye level. You have seen many pet photos where the person is obviously standing and shooting down on a shorter pet. Get down on the level of your subject for some shots. Always shooting down or from eye level will miss the best angles to photograph certain subjects. Sometimes it is a necessary for a perspective so don’t take it as a “rule”.

Some subjects look better being centered but many times you can increase the interest of the image with an off center subject. Try different placements.

Put something of interest in the foreground of your image. A breathtaking landscape sometimes looses impact without an interesting subject to lead you into that landscape. Not every landscape can be translated from what your eyes and brain perceive. You need to give it a little help. For this you will need a wide angle lens or a zoom that will give you a good wide angle. Wide angle is necessary for many landscape views in any case.

Put something in your image to show scale if that is what you are trying to achieve. The great landscape photographer Galen Rowell would walk out into his own images at times when he was hiking alone. Put the camera on the tripod or a rock and trip the self-timer.

At our last camp after our day of Tunnel adventure the light fell low and I shot this at ground level with an interesting subject and the vast cedar studded grasslands where we made that camp. The off center subject worked much better than having it dead center and left room for a distant secondary subject, the tent surrounded by the beauty of the landscape in near twilight.



Linda in the Golden Cathedral is something you have seen already but the thought behind this image was scale. If she would not have been included, the scale would have been lost. Still an okay image but without the achievement of showing scale, a thing that is very difficult in these wonderful canyons. I also backed up enough to include a branch of the tree. I found the green of the leaves and their contrast to the red glowing walls to be an interesting addition. The lighting of the walls was also well thought out. We got on site early and watched the changing light. Once the opposite wall was hit with bright light, that light reflected onto the wall you see, lighting it up with that neon glow. Full sun is a far different effect on these canyon walls and deep shadow is far different and not glowing like the reflected light. I actually had to tone down the color in this image, something you don’t normally have to do.



I like two lane blacktop, interstate freeways hold no interest for me. I like some of the perspectives you can get with images like these. There is so much you can do. Try low angles and high angles. Offset the road and center it for some exposures. I really liked the addition of the road curves right sign in this launch into the wastelands.



A downhill view with a curvy road can, with come good clouds, can lend interest as well. The bridge you see is near Hite and crosses the Colorado there. Watch out for traffic! In the 10 to 15 minutes I spent here, I only saw one car and one motorcycle, my kind of road.



So learn to use your particular camera. They all have their quirks. Learn them and learn how to compensate for them.

Expose your image correctly and make sure your camera is stabilized when the shutter speeds are low.

Experiment with different compositions. Try things from different camera perspectives.

Remember there are no rules in photography. Many people who are deep into this medium will tell you all about rules. You may use some of the advice for some shots but in the end it is your own view on the world that is important. I leave you with a quote from a photographer who has a interesting way of putting it simply;

Rules? I don't like rules; rules are for schools. Photography is a reflection of the individual taking the picture - like any creative art - and this personal expression cannot be governed by a set of rules which stifle the creative and give the soulless something to hide behind. Photography is about common sense, combined with flair and and imagination

Kahuna/Tim


_________________
Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys
- Andre Gide

[paintninaz]

Glen,


THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!


this is SO VERY helpful!!!!!
_________________
~Tracy

“Friends make the bad times good — and the good times unforgettable.”

[Trishness]

Glen,

GREAT tips! Thanks so much for sharing them. I'm from the "old school" 35mm when you actually had to set your F stops, apertures and sometimes push the film speed, before they came out with the automatic Canons in the 70's. So I'm still trying to figure out my digital camera which is only a 2.1 megapixel and just a basic camera. It still has done well and taken some great shots.

Your photos are always so well composed! I look forward to them whenever I see your trip logs.

Again, thanks for the tips on compostition etc.


_________________
~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.

[desertgirl]

Hey Glen -- Thanks for sharing your wisdom. How about you leading a Photo HIke for a bunch of us here ? Are you open -- If so I will work with you to set something up ?
Let me know
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Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

[BoyNhisDog]

You are all welcome.

Trish, I had the same issues when changing over to digital. I came from the old school also. You will overcome it. 2 megapixels are just fine for web work. Most all of the photos I put up are one third of a megapixel as you see them. When you print the more pixels the better but you can really only use so much on the web so people don't have to scroll sideways or wait too long for them to load.

desertgirl, that sounds like fun. My schedual is really off and on and what is left is quite full right now but someday things may work out. To tell the truth I would envision a day cool enough to stay out in the mid-day hours after starting near sunrise. As we are only about 30 days out from the Solstice that may be some time. I'll be here if you have any questions though. If I don't know the answer, a lot of the fun is searching it out. It is a life long learning process.
_________________
Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys
- Andre Gide

[Davis2001R6]

Thanks for the info Glen. A tripod is one of the next toys I need to buy. I just learned last weekend why pictures trun out fuzzy at night when using a slower shutter speed. Maybe someday I can take just one picture that turn out as nice as yours Glen.
-TIM-

[BoyNhisDog]

You can Tim. All you need to do is pursue it 1/10th the way you hike and you will be a pro in no time. As I have followed your super extreme hikes, you could do some very awesome photography on one of those. You see so many angles of light and the land that is bathed in it.
_________________
Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys
- Andre Gide

[Davis2001R6]

Thanks for the encouragement Glen.

[IAHiker]

Thanks for the tips, you have renewed my interest on learning more about my digital camera. Good link to the histograph explanation. Hopefully my pics will turn out half as good as your pics. Thanks again and keep your pictures coming.

-Mark
_________________
"Strive for Excellence"

[Tom Treks]

Tim, I haven't done this yet, but I've seen numerous people fit a small stud on the end of their trekking pole to transform it into a 'mono-pod' for their camera. I've had some luck with just placing my shooting hand on top of one of my poles to get a similar effect.

[Davis2001R6]

Your right Tom I have seen some poles that the knob on the handle unscrews and you can mount your camera on there but unfortunetely mine is not one of them.

[Tom Treks]

Drill bit and stud will do the trick. Hardest part is fitting the stud threads to the camera.

I'm going to do it to a couple of mine. Actually, my poles have a hole in the grip already.

[Davis2001R6]

Mine have a little disk on top for adjusting the strap tention. Not sure if I want to mess with that.

[Tom Treks]

Nope. That would be a bad thing.

[BoyNhisDog]