Notes~Landscapes

Hey guys! Our next section is NATURE and LANDSCAPES! Here are some cool notes on it!:

Composition:

Composition is THE MOST important aspect of landscape photography, it can really change a photo.

Viewpoint is the most important part of composition

Images with large of amounts of tone variation can be more dramatic while those with smaller amounts of tone variation come across as more serene and quiet.

Unity: results when all the parts of an image work together cohesively.

Variety: refers to all the diverse art elements.

Camera Settings:
f/64 is the smallest, but, the smaller, the better!! It gives you a better field of depth

Lighting:
In Landscape photography, there are two VERY AWESOME times when one should shoot, just after sunrise, and just before sunset!

However, when dealing with closer shots, you should probably do it in more direct light, so you can see the shadows and highlights, and give the picture a more realistic feel. (Try during overcast! This reduces the blaring

lights that can sometimes distract in pictures)

Film:

For Landscape, digital is the way to go!

100 ISO is the very very best for a good landscape, al

so black & white works wonders for the pictures, as it s

hows more value,

texture, and possibly patterns too!

Lens:

The wider, the better! But also consider macro, because it can help for closeups!

Hint: To make the clouds look cooler and more prominent in a photograph, try a red, yellow, or orange filter.

Hint: USE A TRIPOD

The Grand Landscape:

What does this mean? It's simply a really, really BIG picture of the natural world. (Picture an awesome shot of half dome in Yosemite, pretty majestic, huh?)

But always keep in mind the Rule of Thirds! For example, the horizon should land inside one of the thirds, like the top or bottom

Abstract:

This type of picture should be artsy, a photo of something almost barely recognizable, but still beautiful.

And now... some Photographer Biographies!

Ansel Adams: (Feb. 20 1902 — Apr. 22, 1984)

Adams is a very famous classic photographer and also environmentalist! He discovered a love of nature at a very young age, and began with his Kodak Brownie, taking pictures of Yosemite. 1927 was a pivotal year for him, when he met Albert M. Bender, who changed him from a concert pianist to a full on photographer! He took pictures for the National Park Service, Kodak, Zeiss, IBM, AT&T, a small women's college, a dried fruit company, and Life Magazine.

He was an advocate for the national park system. Over the years he attended innumerable meetings and wrote thousands of letters in support of his conservation philosophy to newspaper editors, Sierra Club and Wilderness Society colleagues, government bureaucrats, and politicians. He took only Black and White pictures, and was an avid member of the f/64 club.

(I love the middle shot! The value is amazing, also the line caused by the dead tree that is repeated in the reflection. It really comes off as serene and calm.)

Carr Clifton:

Carr Clifton is a large format landscape photographer, with his years of experience as a wilderness guide and traveler, enjoys taking shots of "endangered, wild landscapes most people will never know". He, like Ansel, is also a resident of Northern California, and he started taking pictures in 1977. The reason he started was he was very inspired by landscape photographer Phillip Hyde. He tries to find the most remote and beautiful places he can and photographs them for the world to see.

(I love the shot of mountains. It was used in a National Geographic Magazine. I love the dark line caused by the shadow of the mountain. I also love the diversity of the shot, the dark, jagged mountains, compared to the light, puffy-cloud filled sky, which also shows a little value.)

That's all I have for now with notes! Watch out for me actually doing shots like this!!!

-Babs