Landscape Photography

Anselm Adams, The Sierra Club, National Geographic - for many people these names bring to mind pictures of places they have never seen and may never see in life. Yet the places are real to them because of amazing photographs that have been published worldwide.

Landscape photographers need a strong sense of adventure, athletic skill, infinite patience and sometimes a dose of good luck in order to get the pictures they want in the exact light that they want and from the angle that they want. It is not a profession for the timid!

Dozens of pictures of one scene may be taken, using different types of films and settings, in order to get the one perfect picture the photographer is seeking. Sometimes, often in order to get a sense of scale, there may be a person or animal in the distance in a picture, but usually landscape photography focuses on a scene in nature, seen from a certain angle, and has nothing in it but the scenery itself.

We usually think of different styles only with regard to painting - after all, a photograph is a photograph, right? But there are actually three clearly recognized styles in landscape painting. The first one simply shows the scene exactly as it is, without any manipulation on the part of the photographer. As in painting, this is known as a "representational" style. Lighting and angle are the main factors considered in this type of painting.

Another word associated with painting is used for "impressionistic" photography in which the camera is manipulated in such a way as to give the picture a certain vagueness - an "impression" of the way the scene looks rather than exact details.

Is it possible to have an "abstract" photograph? Yes. In this style the photographer may use very tight close-ups, double exposures or over or under exposures to create a design from nature. The low-flying plane and the helicopter have made possible views of nature that have never been seen in photographs before.

But if you are interested in doing this type of photography, it is wise to begin with an area that you know. The very act of trying to catch a familiar scene on camera can help you to really see it as you have never seen it before. A little internet research with tips from famous photographers will get you off to a good start.