Landscape Photography

Recently I applied to a post on GumTree from a restaurant in Glasgow looking for artists to display and sell work in their premises.

A few days later I was happy to receive a reply saying they wish to use some of my landscape photographs as they felt they stood out and so I thought after my little rant earlier I would write something a little lighter on photographing landscapes in general.

Location is always important, this isn't to say you have to travel to Wales or Scotland just to take good landscape shots, as most people know a beautiful vista can be found in most any place, some of my favorite photographs I have taken were taken not with my Nikon but with a standard fuji 5700 bridge camera and its big brother the sf8000.

The one shot I took with the 5700 was using standard sunset settings and as you can see from the image (below) the setting is a stunning lake with the sun going down, this was taken around 4pm in September (if my memory serves correct).

My point here is the camera you use is not important that isn't to say using a DSLR camera wont give you better results than a compact as we all know the more expensive a camera the more chance of capturing a great shot, but as I say it isn't essential to spend hundreds of pounds on a camera the next picture was taken on an olympus C35 3.5mp camera.

 If you are lucky enough to drive or have access to transport finding locations can be much easier by driving around if it's pleasing to your eye then the chances of it being pleasing to someone else is just the same.

Technical ability with landscapes is not so much an issue, I think the skill is more in knowing a good vista when you see one and in the editing afterwards.

If you feel more comfortable or don't have much time by all means use the automatic settings it isn't "cheating" as some photographers tend to think it is there for a reason, to be used. As with the other settings on your camera.

Of course sometimes Manual mode is required as with the next shot, I am still learning myself when it comes to long exposure shots outdoors but discovered using neutral density filters helps to darken your lens making it possible to take longer exposures.

This makes it possible to slow time down and capture speed as in the next shot with traffic at a 2 sec exposure.
 

I won't say I am anywhere near an expert at landscapes or photography itself but these guidelines are what I have personally learnt from others.