landscape photography Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Infrared Conversions, IR Modifications & Photography Tutorials

Infrared Haze Reduction

Did you ever wonder why IR landscape photos look so crispy sharp? It may not be obvious. But photographing in the near-infrared part of the spectrum has some definite benefits over photographing visible light, especially for landscape photography.

Before we get into the photography portion, let’s take a look at some of the science involved. You might have noticed that infrared light has some ability to penetrate the haze in the air. Why is that? Haze is caused by light scattering off particles in the air. By shooting our photos in IR (longer wavelengths) we can take advantage of some science to reduce the haze that is apparent in our photos.

To help understand the scattering mechanisms, it’s important to understand what I mean by wavelength. Sure it’s related to the color. But why? Light is an electromagnetic wave. All waves can be measured by frequency (like broadcast radio waves) or by wavelength (like light). Frequency in inversely related to wavelength. The color of light depends on the wavelength – the length of the light wave (see the graphic below). If you could see the waves you could measure the distance in order to obtain the wavelength. But the wavelength of visible light is very small. It’s measured in nanometers (billionth’s of a meter). So you’ll need a pretty small ruler. Around the visible light spectrum, the longer wavelengths are associated with orange, red and infrared and shorter wavelengths with blue, purple and ultraviolet light.

Visible light is only a small part of the entire electromagnetic spectrum (EM). You can see where X-rays and gamma rays or microwaves and radio waves lie in the EM spectrum.

Now that the science is out of the way, let’s dive into the photography. What is it that makes the haze apparent in photographs? It’s scattering. But what’s causing the scattering and why? When light hits objects it’s scattered. Blow a little smoke in the air and shine a flashlight on it. What you’re seeing is light being scattered by the smoke particles in the air. But how light is scattered depends highly on the size of the media doing the scattering.

Non-selective scattering is a mechanism that occurs with larger particles (much larger than the wavelength of the light being scattered). This occurs mainly with larger water droplets, ice crystals and similarly sized atmospheric particles. This scattering occurs equally for all wavelengths. So shooting in IR doesn’t provide any benefit over traditional color photography.
Mie scattering is a scattering occurs with atmospheric particles that are approximately the same size as the wavelength being scattered. These particles are typically spherical in nature and are characterized by dust, pollen and water vapor (droplets). Although there is some wavelength dependence, typically all colors are scattered equally. As an example, clouds appear white since the water vapor is being scattered equally across all colors.
Rayleigh scattering is where the magic happens for IR photographers. This scattering occurs mainly on the molecular level, when the particles are much smaller than the wavelength of light being scattered. In the atmosphere this is primarily caused by oxygen and nitrogen molecules. These molecules absorb the light and re-emit it in a random direction, thus scattering the light. However, the amount of Rayleigh scattering that occurs is inversely proportional to the 4^th-power of the wavelength. Knowing this, it is easy to see that infrared light (~800nm) is scattered 1/16 as much as blue light (~400nm).

At ground level, all 3 scattering mechanism can influence the production and of haze. As a result, the haze-penetrating benefits if IR photography are not as strong. Even so, the effects are still quite evident. Take a look at the photo below. The top photo was shot with my cell phone and the bottom with full spectrum camera and IR filter.

A scene photographed with a color camera showcasing the haze on the distant mountains.

The same scene photographed at 740nm. Notice the reduction in haze and improved detail.

I’ve seen the benefit of shooting IR landscapes for many years. However, it is quite shocking to see the difference when shooting from an airplane. There is less dust at higher altitudes. This means that the majority of the scattering is done by Rayleigh scattering. As we already learned, this scattering is highly wavelength dependent. So the difference between visible and IR photos is much more dramatic.

The photograph above is one I shot while flying over central Hungary. It was the first time I’d shot any IR from an airplane. The ground was heavily obscured by haze. After I processed the IR image, I was surprised by the clarity and the appearance of the mountains on the horizon. It’s a perfect example of the powerful haze reduction power of IR photography. This effect is what makes infrared aerial photography such a powerful tool for scientists and those requiring clear images of the ground. Here are a couple of my color vs. IR comparison photos.

Visible Light photo West of Austin Texas

Same photo in 740nm IR

Visible light photo of West Texas, including Guadalupe peak (upper RH side) and Salt Flats.

Same photo in 740nm IR. White Sands National Monument is visible in the upper LH portion of the image, more than 100 miles away.

Hopefully, you pulled something useful out of this blog. But at the very least, I hope you see how IR photography can be used to reduce the haze in photographs. The advantage can be striking and significantly improve the clarity of IR images. I’ve done landscape photography for many years. However, shooting in IR has allowed me to see landscapes in a totally different light (pun intended).

Confront Your Photographic Challenges

Are there times when you feel challenged to complete an assignment, or even to just go out and take some photographs? Tangential activities take on an unanticipated urgency. I have never really understood what drives this onset of dispassion for the task, but I know I have experienced it many times, and I find it helps to set myself a few challenges and hold myself accountable until each of my personal challenges are completed.

Nature photographer Jim Brandenburg is known for challenging himself. Jim decided to limit his images to only one photograph a day for a 90-day period between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. His project was deeply personal, and the amazing work that developed over the months most certainly speaks for itself.

Here are a couple of ways you can provoke your challenges, and learn a few new techniques in the process:

Join a Photo challenge site – One great site, Photochallenge.org encourages you to increase your photographic skills by committing to a photo challenge. No tutorials, just photographers interacting with each other. The team sets out common guidelines, which are easy to understand and simple to follow. The challenges are specific, such as; capture black and white shots of the human body, or take portraits of people or animals, and then share with others also participating in the challenge. If you are not quite up to engaging at that level, it is still worth visiting the site to view images and to ultimately gain the courage to start interacting online with other photographers.

Commit to taking a tutorial a week – There are many sites that provide free tutorials, such as Iheartfaces as well as subscription based sites like CreativeLive, KelbyOne, and Lynda.com that offer the opportunity to learn a little more about your camera, as well as how to use software applications to successfully edit your images. If you find it easier to learn in a classroom, give yourself the gift of a workshop a year. The secret is to follow through on what you have learned.

Set specific parameters – Make some definitive decisions each time you go out to take images. Consider some of these ideas:

1 – Take only one lens with you. If you do not have fixed lenses, choose a zoom lens focal length and don’t be tempted to change it. This will encourage you to position yourself correctly for each shot. It will also help you to really understand the capabilities of each lens.

2 – Utilize the full frame. Fill your frame with the shot and don’t plan on cropping in post. This will encourage correct orientation, and enable you to make every pixel count.

3 – Decide upon a color or texture and concentrate on images of that color or texture. This makes you evaluate your surroundings and notice many things you may not normally have seen.

4 – While teaching at a photographic conference in Las Vegas, I played around with the color/full frame challenge and spent a couple of hours in the beautiful botanical gardens located in the Bellagio hotel. I started with some fairly simple images and then dug down into the fragility of petals. I found myself down a whole new path involving the combination of shadow and color.

5 – Dedicate a photographic day to simply using your mobile phone, and get creative. There are many apps for editing camera phone images and some of the results are pretty impressive. While boating in Maine, I was able to capture the old Maine Windjammer, the Isaac H. Evans. I challenged myself to use only my mobile phone all day so that I would concentrate on light and composition. It was quite refreshing to have my head up and looking at my subject, rather than staring down the camera viewfinder!

6 – Limit the number of images you take. Imagine you do not have the capability of taking many photographs. Make every image count, and don’t cheat by erasing images!

Sometimes it is important to try to recognize the route of the challenged feeling! Each time I head up to Rockport, Maine to teach drone flight and aerial photography, I find myself having to overcome the inherent fears surrounding the nature of the class. I am not immune to the constant commentary surrounding the use of drones and their various applications. In order to overcome those mental challenges, I remind myself that I teach because I enjoy teaching, and the pleasure I receive from watching students initially grapple with the technology, and then start creating beautiful images is most certainly more contagious than the niggling doubts in my head. I also take time out to go and fly with my teaching partner and hone my skills a little more.

Flying over water takes a little more concentration and awareness of the wind conditions. but the results can be incredibly rewarding. The image above is a single capture, and below, a 5 image panorama created in Lightroom. These were taken using a DJI Phantom 4.

Finally, I have also noticed that as infrared photography becomes more popular, there are many discussion groups debating about what constitutes a good IR image. No matter what my assignment, I carry my converted Canon 1DS with me and find an opportunity to experiment.

It is interesting to compare my results with images taken from the Phantom 4. In the image below, I am actually much closer to the boats in the harbor, but hovering over the water.

I challenge you all to experiment with IR. If you are not yet ready to convert one of your cameras, consider purchasing a filter that somewhat replicates the look and feel, and this will give you a great introduction. I am pretty sure you will soon be hooked. Whatever your end goal, don’t let those perceived or real challenges get in the way and don’t let the negativity of others (or your own doubts) prohibit your creativity.

Working a Scene – Multiple Compositions

“I wish I would have…”

Hate to have those words pass through my mind. Usually, you won’t hear them unless enough time wasn’t taken shooting options at a scene. It doesn’t take much time and the heartache saved, especially when photographing a place where conditions are very good or it might be difficult or impossible to return.

I’m talking about trying different ideas when photographing a subject. Many times over the years I’ve caught myself not looking for more than the obvious when making images. Let’s look at some of the options in composition that were added for a totally different feel in each image. This was from an infrared session in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. The scene is Courthouse Butte in the Village of Oak Creek. It happens to be a few minutes away from my house and I photograph it often. Even then, especially when the clouds are working, I want to get the most out of the session or even a quick stop, as possible.

The main scene Courthouse Butte

A relatively small change in framing can make a big difference in the feel of a place. Let’s look at some possibilities.

A vertical version that features the tree as subject with Courthouse as a secondary subject.

Another vertical version with lots of open sky. Possibilities include full page magazine or cover option.

How about square??

Another possible cover use with slightly different composition, totally different feel even though it’s the same basic subject.

The Capture Process

Images were captured with the Lumix G6 which was converted to IR by LifePixel. My current workflow when shooting is to bracket one stop over and one stop under in RAW plus jpeg. For the jpeg the camera is set to process to black and white. This gives me a very good feel for the IR look as I shooting right on the back of the camera. You can set your camera to black & white but if you are only shooting in RAW Mode you will only see the BW image on the back of the camera. When you download your images the BW preview will be stripped from the image because you asked for ONLY the RAW info. The camera’s settings are only ‘baked in’ to the file if you are capturing jpeg files.

For this particular set of files I used the RAW file with the middle exposure. I processed in Adobe Camera RAW. The settings were to bring the Temperature Slider all the way to Blue and the Tint Slider all the way to green. Contrast was bumped up. Highlights brought down a little. Shadows up. Whites up. Blacks down. Clarity up a bit. Remove all Saturation.

Here’s what the settings looked like in the Camera RAW dialog box.

After the files were opened in Photoshop I used the (recently made free) NIK Color FX Pro 4 plugin with the Glamour Glow setting to get the IR ‘glow’ in the highlights.

One more thought when you are working a good subject. Sometimes it makes sense to get a totally different view. Got in the car and looked for a totally new composition.

Yours in Creative Photography, Bob

Processing Photo Files – Aurora HDR

“The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.” – Ansel Adams

Some Thoughts on Digital vs. Film Processing

I will update Ansel’s quote just a bit for today’s digital age. The original file is now equivalent to Ansel’s negative. The post-processing is the performance of the file which leads to the print or other use. Instead of heading to a dark room full of chemicals and diminished red light we can work in a lighted environment. We now create changes that are repeatable to an exacting standard. In the past to pull a print in the darkroom you had to dodge and burn using your hands or other objects to interrupt or extend the lighting time on the paper. You could spend hours trying to get an image printed just as you would like it. And good luck with being able to create the same image again.

Now that we are in the digital age we can create repeatable results and can tickle every pixel in the file to do our bidding. Photography software has been improving at an incredible rate to help us in developing our imagery. I’d like to talk about revisiting older RAW files to see how the new processing tools can breath new life into them. This can be done using jpegs also, but you will not have near the latitude as RAW files. When jpegs are saved a relatively large portion of non-visible information is tossed to the side never to be seen again.

There are wonderful reasons to use jpegs. I capture them all the time. Benefits include having the image look great right out of the camera for instant sharing on social media. Or, if you tell the camera to give you a black and white or another photo style the information is baked right into the file. But those same benefits of jpegs become liabilities when you want to make larger images and dig down into the data to pull out all the detail and color that is available in the RAW.

Best of Both Worlds

Here’s the best part. You don’t have to do one or the other. Today’s cameras can capture RAW plus jpeg giving you the options with the best of both worlds. Camera cards and storage memory have come down in price to a point where storage of the extra files is not a price decision. This is especially important when it comes to making better images from older files as new software solutions are formulated.

Aurora HDR *

I haven’t been a great fan of a lot of the HDR programs in the past as they ‘looked’ like HDR. Many of the effects included way too much saturation, ghosting in high contrast areas, and noise. MAC users now have a new option from MacPhun called Aurora HDR. It has very precise controls that can help you show the detail you wish along with the density range you need to cover with relative ease. Let’s take a look at an exposure sequence I created in 2014 that I was not happy with the final result I was able to achieve at that time.

Three image bracket of landscape scene in Sedona, Arizona

As you can see in the first image, the sky is exposed correctly, and shadow areas are blocked up. The middle image has the red rocks looking just about right. The last exposure has a place to add lots of detail to what will be the shadow areas of the image.

Processed image

Working with various settings makes it possible to pull up detail in the shadows while still controlling highlights in a believable fashion. As I study this I may have added a bit of saturation and a bit more ‘grit’ to the scene, but that was an artistic choice. Not one forced on me by the limitations of previous versions of HDR software. When processing there is a significant number of presets to get you close to your final result. Then you have the opportunity tweak many settings to your taste.

Presets across the bottom of the navigation processing window. There are different sets of presets from which to choose or you can build and save your recipes. The right-hand side of the window shows just a few of the possible tool adjustment settings available. Scrolling reveals many more possibilities.

Black and White – Nik Silver FX Pro 2

I can take the image to a whole other look by working with my favorite black and white conversion software from Google. Nik Silver FX Pro 2 * is a solid way to move the image to monochrome. There are options for micro-sharpening, tweaking various tones with complete control.

Black and white processed image starting with the Aurora HDR from above

Remember we talked about darkroom dodging and burning. After the photo was converted with Nik a blank layer was created in Adobe’s Photoshop. The Blend Mode was changed to Soft Light. By ‘painting’ on this layer with a black or white brush set to a low opacity, you can dodge and burn in a non-destructive fashion. If it is going to be an involved process with lots of dark and light adjustments, you can add two blank layers. Then paint on one layer with black for burning and the other with white for dodging.

Final Thoughts

I have bee accused of ‘cheating’ because of my use of the new software tools available. One of the greats of our time would have been right there beside me. I’ll share with you another quote from Ansel that will indicate that he would have been one of the first photographers to move into digital processing. He was also a bit of a sage predicting the time when digital processing would become of use to photographers. Below find the quote from his autobiography published in 1984.

“In the electronic age, I am sure that scanning techniques will be able to achieve prints of extraordinary subtlety from the original negative scores. If I could return in 20 years or so I would hope to see astounding interpretations of my most expressive images. It is true no one could print my negatives as I did, but they might well get more out of them by electronic means. Image quality is not the product of a machine, but of the person who directs the machine, and there are no limits to imagination and expression.” Ansel Adams

Yours in creative Photography, Bob

** The Google Nik Suite of software is now free

Time Lapse with an Infrared Converted Camera

I was trying out something just a wee bit different the other day and believe I found a kind of cool learning tool. A friend was passing through town with her IR camera just converted, and she was having the time of her life. She kept wishing she could see in IR all the time saying, “I wish I could have this camera mounted on my head.” Trying as well as she could while realizing that it might not work out so well as it cuts down on your peripheral vision quite a bit leading to some tripping on rocks and bumping tree branches.

I’m a fan of infrared myself. The excitement was rekindled when I had my Lumix G6 converted to infrared by LifePixel. I used to shoot IR back in film days but got away from it due to all the hassles of the film becoming fogged very easily not to mention trying to focus through a filter that took away almost all visible light.

I tried out some infrared time lapse photography and saw that it could be a way to study how the sunlight reacts with different subjects when on and off and somewhere in between. FYI the camera is set to capture black & white images. I normally would shoot in RAW plus jpeg but time-lapse sequences take a lot of images so I shot in jpeg only.

The camera was set to capture an image once every second. I choose this setting because the wind was high and the clouds were moving through the scene very quickly leaving their trails of light and shadow as streaks. These images were then processed into a video set to 15 frames per second. Quite often the processing is 24 or 30 frames per second but I felt that was too fast to show the differences of the light passage. A great feature of the Lumix cameras is the ability to process your time-lapse videos right in-camera. Choose quality, frame rate, size, etc. Play it back. If you don’t like what you see, you can process again very quickly with different parameters.

Go to full screen to see the best detail. Note the difference between highlights on leaves and rocks as the sun races through the image.

Jpeg image straight out of camera (SOOC)

Here’s the image processed using multiple jpegs layered together selecting highlights and shadows as I would like. Then the image is taken into NIK Color FX Pro 4 for the addition of some filters to brighten the highlights and finish off the IR look. Tonal Contrast, Glamour Glow, and Film Grain were all added.

Here’s the same image processed for a different look. The same filter pack from NIK Color FX Pro 4 was used as described above with a bit more Glamor Glow.

Using this process you can mix and match your post-processing to get the exact look you would like. For Example, you could take this glow and use it on the image above. Choices are endless.

Yours in Creative Photography, Bob

Profiled Photographers – Oscar Simon Navarrete

It wasn’t until digital cameras arrived that Spanish photographer Oscar Simon Navarrete got into photography. He was so fascinated by the photos that he saw on the internet that he purchased a Nikon 2 megapixel camera. He wanted to capture the images he saw online himself and started to practice by photographing sunsets. He caught the photography bug and eventually purchased a Canon 450D.

Since he bought his Canon 450D he made friends with people who shared the same passion in photography and spent more and more time travelling. But his focus has always been on capturing the perfect light within his photos. His journey has led him to this point in his life and he isn’t quite sure how he got here. He says “In my mind, I don´t really know how I got here but I can say that over the years I have studied and found that photography makes me feel full”.

So Oscar, where are you from and where do you currently live?

I’m originally from Malaga in Spain but I have lived in different cities. For the last 12 years I have been living in Zaragoza in Spain.

What genre of photography do you specialise in?

What I really love is landscape photography and especially at night. As much as possible I try to combine my landscapes with night photography.

Describe your style of photography?

I hope to try and transmit the passion that I feel when I´m in the mountains or anywhere wild through my photography. For me it’s not just the scene that is important, but also the light. It is the key component that I try to look for every time I pick up my camera. I try to combine the scene and light in my photographs.

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now I´m working on my latest set of photographs from my recent trip to Iceland. I spent 10 days there and have to spend some time in post production on them.

What is your next project or assignment?

With a friend of mine, we have founded a company called WorldPhotoXperience. The company was born with the idea that other photographers who see some of our work may want to travel to those locations which are often difficult to get to. We take care of everything so that the only things our clients need are their camera gear and a basic knowledge of photography. We cater for all levels from beginners to advanced and keep our group sizes small – no more than 12. We have trips from cities like London and New York to places such as Iceland and Lofoten and have new destinations such as the Arctic and Canada coming for 2017.

You can find out more by visiting WorldPhotoXperience

Are there any photographers whose work/style you admire?

I admire some great photographers. Ted Gore, Ryan Dyar, Serge Ramelli, David Martin Castan and Guillermo Garcia Delgado have all had great success with their work. I love their style and mood and I spend hours looking at their photographs.

But for me it’s not just famous photographers who can make great photos. There are so many talented photographers out there who can capture great images and we can all learn from them. The key is to pay attention to what they have to show us.

What is your favourite memory from your experiences?

The first time I travelled to Iceland, on the second day we went out with our gear to try to catch the northern lights. This was the first time I saw them and I felt very special and fortunate to be able to see this magical phenomenon. That feeling has always stayed with me when I do any photography.

What’s the biggest photographic challenge you overcame?

Two years ago me and some friends decided to go to the Pyrenees mountains in winter to catch the light at an altitude of 2100 meters. The night temperature was -13ºC (8ºF), but the effort and cold was worth it as I captured some great images.

What’s in your camera bag?

I use a Canon 5D MK2 with several lenses. I have a Canon 16-35mm f2.8, Canon 24-105mm and Canon 50mm that I usually take with me on my travels.

What photographic equipment would you never leave home without?

I love with my Canon 16-35mm lens, so I never go anywhere without that and my Canon 5D MK2. More than 80% of my photographs are taken with this combination.

What advice you would give anyone who is starting out?

I think I still have much to learn to be someone who can give advice to others, but if I was to give advice, it would be to keep looking for your own style. Never forget where you want to be and don´t think you have learnt everything. There is far too much out there to see and learn.

Any pitfalls they should avoid?

Not to feel too down when you have bad comments about your work. The internet is full of people who don’t make constructive comments but instead just try to become notorious, so don´t pay too much attention to them or to social media.

Lastly… if you weren’t a photographer what would you be doing?

If photography wasn’t in my life I think I would be doing something creative but I don´t know exactly what.

To view more of Oscar’s work or get in contact with him visit www.oscarsimon.com or follow him on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Interview by Kav Dadfar.

The Dynamic Range In Landscape Photography

Since the camera has been invented, the man has always tried to copy one of the greatest wonder that our body possesses: the eye. Unfortunately, despite it has passed far beyond a hundred years from the first time that the man “captured the light”, we are still far from overcome Mother Nature.

Try to think about the last beautiful sunset that you have witnessed by the sea: you will certainly remember the light and the warm tones, the marvelous colored reflexes of the clouds on the sea and the golden sand. But I am also certain of your disappointment when you tried to take a picture of that moment. The fact that you have taken a picture with your cell or with your beloved reflex, it does not matter: if you have exposed on the sky, the beach has become a silhouette, vice versa exposing on the beach the sky will have become completely white. Why? Indeed simple: in the visible spectrum, your eye sees a lot better than your camera.

With the sun in front of you, for your camera is not easy to manage details

The parameter that describes this behavior is called Dynamic Range, which defines the difference between the minimum and maximum value of brightness that a support succeeds in recording.
Basically therefore the Dynamic Range points out the ability of your photographic camera to contemporarily see details in very clear areas and very dark areas of the scene.
Our eye therefore it has a superior dynamic range to the sensor of our photographic camera.
By how much? About twice.

Comparison between human eye and DSLR Dynamic Range

This explains why in front of a beautiful sunset, we succeed in seeing details in the whole scene, both in the sky strongly illuminated, and on the beach or on the ground in front of us.
The unity of measurement of the Dynamic Range is the Exposure Value (EV) and at the moment in which this article is written, a good DSLR has a superior Dynamic Range to 13.
We could enter into technical detail of how the photon interacts on our sensor, but I believe that further to annoy you to death I would not be of any help in your next outdoors trip in field.

Evolution of Dynamic Range in Nikon cameras – DxOMark

But if even the best of cameras has a Dynamic Range which is half of the human eye, how can we hope to be able to shoot a beautiful sunset or a wonderful sunrise?
There are different methods to overcome the problem, but in the end we can gather them into two macros families:

Techniques of more or less advanced post production (HDR, Digital Blending, Luminosity Mask,.. ),
Use of photographic filters

Which of the two is it better? I think it’s a bit ‘like asking whether it is better Nikon or Canon.. Personally I prefer to apply the second solution, the photographic filters, for several reasons:

I prefer to spend my time in field and not on Photoshop
Having a “clean” shot in camera ensures best quality
There are filters that can not be reproduced in post production

In the series of articles that I will propose you in the next appointments, we will explore together the world of filters, not only to know how to choose what is good to have with you in your backpack depending on your photographic style, but also how to use them well on the field.

Stay tuned!

8 Tips to Improve Your Mountain Photos

Mountains have been captivating photographers ever since the early cameras were invented. Renowned photographers like Ansel Adams spent a considerable amount of their time capturing landscapes that highlighted the beauty of them, however, capturing an image that might do the scene justice isn’t always straightforward. Follow these simple tips to help you next time you are looking to photograph mountain scenery.

Scout The Location

There is no doubt about it, if you want to capture great photos of mountains, you will need to do your research before you even leave home. That means understanding everything you possibly can about the location, the weather and the direction and intensity of the light, although that research is only the start. Once at the location you often have to scout the location to find the best viewpoint. This means you need to allow yourself enough time to so that you are able to visit the location and still have an opportunity to go back if you need to.

Catch The Best Light

It’s no secret that a big element of any sort of landscape photography is the lighting. Early mornings and late afternoons offer the best light as the low sun enhances shadows and saturates the colours. But that doesn’t mean you can’t photograph at other times of the day. You just need to consider the direction and intensity of the light, but try to avoid photographing landscapes in the midday sun. The harsh light can make a scene seem flat and uninteresting.

Consider The Foreground

Often, when photographing mountains, your immediate foreground is clear because you are some distance away from the mountain range that you are capturing. This means your foreground becomes incredibly important to your image. You need to avoid having too much “dead space” in the photo so try to find something that can add a point of interest to the foreground. Not only will it enhance the photo, but also lead the viewers’ eyes into the distance and the mountain range.

Bad Weather Adds Mood

There’s nothing enjoyable about being caught in the cold and wet out in the wilderness. However, bad weather can lead to incredibly stunning and moody photographs of mountains. If you are brave enough to head out, you can capture photos that really are incredibly unique and powerful. Stormy dark clouds are great backdrops for mountain ranges, whilst fog can add a completely different element to your photos. Always remember that mountains are dangerous places where the weather can change dramatically without notice, so always make sure you are well prepared and most importantly stay safe.

Experiment In Portrait Mode

The majority of time you will be photographing in landscape mode, although sometimes mountains look great when photographed in portrait mode. But your foreground (or the sky) becomes even more important when photographing in portrait mode, so make sure that you are paying close attention to these parts of the composition.

Consider Your Horizon

Whatever the landscape that you are photographing, where you place your horizon can have a huge impact on the photo. If you have an interesting foreground, place your horizon further up in the image so that the viewer sees more of the foreground. If your mountain range is being supported by a dramatic sky, place your horizon lower so that you show more of the sky. The majority of time you need to avoid putting your horizon in the middle of the photo.

Add A Person

One of the big challenges when photographing mountains is conveying the sense of scale. The best way to achieve this is to add a person to the composition. The viewer will find it much easier to interpret and get a sense of scale when there is a person in the photo. The other advantage of introducing a person in the photo is that it can make the image tell a much more of an interesting story rather than a generic landscape.

Get The Technical Elements Right

You have done your research, scouted the location, worked out the best time to take the picture and composed it in your mind. Now you need to ensure that the final result is technically perfect. The last thing you would want is for your image to be let down because it’s not sharp.

Close the aperture to increase the depth of field. Generally you will be looking at f8 – f16
When using long exposure, ensure you lock up the mirror on your camera to avoid vibrations which will blur the image
For long exposures you will need a tripod. It is also a good idea to use a remote release cable to avoid camera shake. If you don’t have one, simply set your camera mode to timer (usually 2 or 3 sec)
A polarization filter can be invaluable as it can remove reflections (especially useful when photographing near snow or ice and also water) and can also really enhance the blues in the sky which contrast well against mountain ranges

Mountains make wonderful subjects to photograph, and if done well can stand out in any portfolio. Just follow these simple tips and you will be well on your way.

Now it’s your turn. Share your awesome mountain photos below.

6 Tips For Photographing Waterfalls

Who doesn’t like seeing a waterfall? And there is nothing quite like seeing a waterfall in full flow, but capturing unique images of waterfalls can be challenging. You will often be working in low light conditions and unless the waterfall takes a lot of effort to get to, you will be sharing it with hoards of other people. Just follow these few simple tips and transform your photos.

Wait For The Right Time

Waterfalls are best seen and photographed in full force which is usually after rainfall. So do your research and find out when the best time is to photograph them. Some waterfalls will be mere trickles in the summer months where as others will flow all year long. Try to work out which way the waterfall faces and plan your shoot accordingly. It will be much easier to photograph the waterfall with the light coming from behind you rather than in front. Cloudy days are great for photographing waterfalls as the diffused light means you will get less contrast between highlights and shadows.

Think About The Composition

It’s important to compose your images to work with the river and waterfall. Don’t simply place your waterfall in the middle of the picture if it doesn’t look right; instead, try to direct the viewer’s eyes with the shape of the river to the waterfall. Placing a point of interest in the foreground is also a great way of direct the viewers attention from one object to another. The key is to really study the scene, take your time and work out the composition that works best.

Decide On Your Settings

Do you want to freeze that action or get a smooth effect on the water? There’s no right answer, just what you want your photograph to say. If you want to freeze the action you will need a fast shutter speed which will be dependent on how fast the water is flowing. Start at around 1/250s and work your way up until you get the desired effect. For smooth looking water you’ll need a slower shutter speed. Again, start at around 1/15s and work your way down. Remember that if you are going to be using a slow shutter speed you will need a tripod.

Think About Surroundings

One of the best ways to capture waterfalls is when they are in contrast to the plants, rocks and foliage around them, so look out for these elements around the waterfall that you can incorporate into your photo. Fallen trees, leaves and even people can transform an image and give it a completely unique look and feel. You could even sometimes make the waterfall secondary in the composition and have the focus on another element in the scene such leaves on the ground or even the flow of the water.

Use A Polarizing Filter

A polarizing filter is incredibly useful when photographing any body of water. Not only will it limit unwanted reflections, but it will also help boost the saturation of blues and greens which are in abundant in and around waterfalls. They are fairly cheap and can also act as extra protection for your lens glass from the water.

Be Patient

Unless the waterfall you are photographing requires a lot of effort to get to, it will likely attract crowds. One way to avoid this is to arrive very early in the day when you usually have the place to yourself. But if you do find that it’s busy just be patient and wait for a gap, but make sure you are ready and have your camera set up to go so that you don’t miss the opportunity. Or, you could always incorporate people into your composition to give a sense of scale and tell a completely different story.

Waterfalls make for fantastic photos and offer many different way of capturing them. But as with all landscape photography, try to think beyond the obvious and don’t be afraid to take risks with your composition and settings. Waterfalls are pretty well photographed and to make your images stand out you need to be prepared to dedicate the time and effort needed to capture them at their best.

Show us your waterfall photos and share your tips and experiences below.