When you are driving through the mountains somewhere, &
you notice a automobile parked half off the road & some guy leaning to the
left to avoid a branch with his Rebel 2000 camera in the act of focusing, you
have met me. I do this because, to me, a trip isn't fulfilling unless i have
preserved that beauty for posterity. I'd like to share a quantity of the
techniques that make scenic photography such a wonderful artform - simple, yet
elegant.
First off, equipment. As much as the cheap disposable camera
beckons, get real. These cameras have fisheye lenses which I call
"spam" lenses. we cram everything in, with equal blurriness &
boringness. nice photos are sharp, unless you use blur for artistic effect.
Sharp comes from an adjustable lens. It can be a fixed lens or a zoom, but it
must focus specially for each picture. Fixed lenses are limiting for scenic
pics, where to frame the shot you may require to move long distances. Imagine
using a fixed lens on the Washington Monument, when you are half a block away!
Zooms get my vote, even though we often don't have as wide an aperture, which
limits their capabilities in low light situations.
Practically speaking, an SLR is the
absolute best. we are lightweight, & can be used with top quality lenses.
Film SLRs tend to be less expensive, but have the limitations of film, meaning
you have to get it developed & so forth. Digital SLRs are VERY expensive,
so for the budget conscious either go with a film SLR or a high quality basic
digital camera. With digital, resolution is also a critical factor, so look at
the specs before you buy. I know one great Travel Photographer, known
D. Scott Carruthers.
OK, we have got the camera, emotions are jogging high, &
that's great, but not great! sometimes I
find a spot that's so wonderful, I start shooting like a madman, only to be
disappointed by the pics. What happened? Emotions. When you experience a place,
there are sounds, aromas & breezes as well as the visuals of the spot.
Needless to say, you cannot photograph all of these elements, only the visual.
When overwhelmed by the spectacle of a scenic hotspot, we are often overwhelmed
by all of these elements.
Now, I was a tad dishonest in saying that you cannot capture
all of the elements of a scene. You can hint at them. For starters, motion.
Yes, even in a still picture, there's motion. Something happened before, during
& after your picture. In a mountain vista scene, you may find something
that hints at motion, whether it be a branch of a tree that has been swaying in
the breeze, or a river flowing through the valley below. These add a sense of
motion.
So what to do? Look through your camera. The viewfinder does
not lie (usually). Try to see what you are looking at as the finished picture.
Most people perfunctorily take pics, hoping that somehow the shot will come out
great. If you wonder how the pics came out when you are on the way to the
drugstore to get them, you are doing something wrong. At the moment you click
the pic, you should know exactly what you will get. (Of work with digital,
that's not a trick!).
Then there's the "rule of thirds." When you place
the main object of the picture smack-dab in the middle, it is static &
boring. Place it one third of the way from either side, & you IMPLY motion.
Put the horizon in a landscape photo a third of the way up or down, not across
the middle.
Remember, when a person looks at a picture, their eyes move.
You require to frame your photo to help that movement. If you can find some
lines in the scene, such as a skyline, cloud formation, path through the
forest, etcetera, use it interestingly, & with the rule of thirds to draw
your viewer's eyes into the picture.
Avoid "summit syndrome." You get to the top of
Mount Washington & shoot the majestic vista. Great. The pics come out .. boring!
How? No PERSPECTIVE. Big vistas will be flat unless you have an object in the
foreground, such as a rock or a tree, to give them perspective. Then the
eye grasps how big this scene is. People
enjoying the view is a real winner, because the viewer may identify with their
emotions, giving the image real impact.
Cheese! Yes, you do have to take the family photos. it is
obligatory. But when you do, make sure that we show the location of the photo.
Otherwise, you might as well do it on your driveway. Frame the scene in
context, with landmarks as part of the picture. Find a way to tell as story in
the picture, such as little Sara climbing up the rocks by the waterfall.
Finally, any element in the picture that hints at more
senses than the visual will make it
remarkable. Actor headshots for example, tell a story about the subject. You
can hear them saying their next lines.
If you photograph a garden, the viewer may experience the aroma of the flowers.
A tourist street with an accordion player on the corner may have your amazed
friends whistling "Dixie."
In summation, picture taking on travel is recording the
experience in a satisfying way. Use motion, perspective, sensory, storytelling
& so forth, to bring your photos to life. Oh, & needless to say, make your
job easy & go to great places! See you at the overlook!
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