The opening competition of Photographer of the Year saw the theme of Landscapes.  On the whole they were fairly standard landscape images and, with the exemption of a few, will get lost in the myriad of millions of landscape images ever produced.  Whilst we are not expecting members to produced work more akin to the professional standard by icons such as Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite and David Noton, we do expect the members to produce something different from the norm whilst adhering to the storytelling nature of landscape photography.  I find that images within the camera club world tend to do better if they are “people” orientated as, I believe, it is easier to tell a story.  With landscapes we see so many nice but ordinary images.  Even I started on this avenue and got constantly frustrated about why my image wasn’t doing better.  Therefore it is imperative that when you enter you Landscape images, you are trying to tell a story and immerse yourself within nature, no matter how long you have to take the image.  As usual, there are thousands of examples/resources on the Internet to help you in the future.  You only need to take a couple pieces of advice and use this next time you take a landscape image.

So, from what I have learnt to date:

  • Tell a story
  • Use the golden light (sunrise/sunset)
  • Use filters, including the “Big Stopper” for long exposures at the coast
  • In woodland scenes, take images on a cloudy day when the light is diffused
  • Composition is as important as the light
  • Think portrait
  • Be intimate with the landscape
  • It is more important what you exclude rather than include
  • Use a tripod for ultimate sharpness with apertures of F/11 and above with ISO of 100/200
  • Be creative
  • Use the mist and fog for separation
  • Create depth
  • Change your position
  • Don’t be afraid to use a telephoto lens to compress the scene
  • Take notice of the seasons
  • View the masters – look at other landscape photographers for ideas and inspiration

From the Internet:

Good landscape photography is a difficult skill, but as with any photography genre, with some thought and application, your results will improve.