Landscape Photography

geebs2006

geebs2006

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445
Name
Steven
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I have been learning up on things such as Aperature, Shutter speed etc and now fell I have a good grasp of this after just doing some trial and error.

Landscape photography is one of the areas I fancy getting more experience in.

I have a Nikon D40 with the kit lens (18-55) and the 55-200 VR.

I presume for most of what I shoot, the 18-55 will play the biggest part correct?

I do want to get a better lens for this such as the Sigma 10-20mm but for now I will use this. What I want to know is what filters etc should I be looking at. I have read about Circular Polarisers and Grad ND's and then a combination of both of these but then I started getting confused lol.

Any help/advice/where to buy's anyone can give to a previously "Auto mode, point and shoot" noob would be much apprecaited :lol:

Sunsets/rises interest me as well if that affects what filters I use.
 
if you dont have one, get a tripod! the 10-20 is on my list, the kit lens will be fine to start with.

Start using aperture/shutter priority or use the metering to use the manual mode.

Good luck and enjoy!

Post up your pics and most will give you good c&c which will always help you improve!
 
The thing you need most with landscape, apart from the correct equipment (tripod, filters) is patience.

A good understanding of light is also crucial. It is the combination of light, and land that usually come together to make the best landscape photographs. We are just an extension of our equipment, we only tell our kit what to do with the light and the land.

The rest is down to the light and the timing.
 
Yea should have mentioned that I have a tripod - just a Hama one which I had bought when I had the Fuji S9600 but looking to upgrade that when money allows as its not the sturdiest looking thing. Was one of them buy it moments when I saw it on offer at Dixons.
 
to start get to know yoour choosen target, reasearch the area that you wnat to shoot.

get to know the sunrise times and sun set times. early and late light create fantastic warmth and feeling.

get a good weather site on the favorites and be prepared to go out at short notice to the reasearched areas.

know where the early/late light will hit.

look for areas of lead interest, things like tractor marks across a hay or barley field use these to lead.

dont just turn up and expect the picture to be there for you, scout move walk around look behind you.

also be prepared to wait in one location for a while and the light may reward you, there agian it may not.

learn how to use the camera and the lens that you have. with that when you move up to another lens then you have the basics of the camera which will allow you then to experiemtn with the new lens.

always try to use a tripod it will slow you down and make you look at what is in front of you.

try to portray teh image that you see in front of you, i mean when you walk into an area and you go wow look at that try to get this across in your picture, dont rush. get away from the tourist rush to snap everything in site. to to find what made you go wow.

this is just some of what may help you to go beyond your own limits and boundaries in landscape pictures. have a look at ericbarrett.fotopic.net for some ideas.

not saying they are brilliant but to me they are enjoyable and i feel put across the feeling i got when i saw the scene in fornt of me.

Eric
 
Thanks for all the comments.

I have my driving test a week on monday which hopefully I will pass so that my fiance and I can go out at weekends and just drive until we see something that catches our eye.

Then as you say eric, wait in that area and see if the light rewards us or not.

I know a few good spots in Scotland but going to do some research on some areas, especially over on the west coast, away from my hometown of Aberdeen.
 
geebs2006 said:
Thanks for all the comments.

I have my driving test a week on monday which hopefully I will pass so that my fiance and I can go out at weekends and just drive until we see something that catches our eye.

Then as you say eric, wait in that area and see if the light rewards us or not.

I know a few good spots in Scotland but going to do some research on some areas, especially over on the west coast, away from my hometown of Aberdeen.
Click to expand...


between yoou and inverness there are some fantastic spots to shoot. good coastal areas down into the cairngormes.

there is the whiskey trail that again has some stunning shots.

some of the fishing ports on the run along towards inverness macduff and banff.

or go towards aberlour from Aberdeen and the scenery is stunning on the back roads.

keep a note book with you at all times and when you find an area of photographic beauty record it so you can return in the future.

just some hints to assist you
 
Thanks alot - never thought about the notebook idea.

My gran stays in Turriff so will quiz her as well as to places of interest.
 
some people shoot landscape with the 70-200 lenses
I prefer a bit more Wiiiiide
there are loads of thread around here with the words ND grad and HDR in the title
have a hunt about
 
DizMatt said:
some people shoot landscape with the 70-200 lenses
I prefer a bit more Wiiiiide
there are loads of thread around here with the words ND grad and HDR in the title
have a hunt about
Click to expand...

Thanks - just having a look at some threads just now :)
 
Now don't you go off thinking that you need a really wide lens for landscapes, 18-55 is fine I generally use a Sigma 24-60mm and if I need to stitch a couple together. I find with ultra wide angle lenses that you get a huge expanse of tiny things in the distance and little detail.
You're certainly in a good spot for landscapes though and sunrises along that coast are fairly spectacular if you find the right spot. so, as has been said, take a notebook and jot down anything/where of interest for future reference. ND grads are useful but not essential and personally I don't like HDR unless its very subtle. If you haven't got grads a tree or a cloud work just as well.
Looking forward to seeing your results.

Andy
 
Take the shot from low down and try to have something in shot off to one side, even if it's just a pile of rocks or a fencepost or whatever. Not a rigid rule, of course. Use your widest aperture, f/22 or whatever it is, to keep as much in focus as possible. Use a polariser (CPL) filter to deepen saturation and cut out reflections. Wait for the "magic hour" around sunrise/sunset and use a remote shutter release (cheap on ebay). You could bracket the shot and do an HDR pic if you're feeling adventurous. Take lots of shots at various exposure lengths/ISO settings. Maybe you could take the land from one and sky from another and combine them in Photoshop to make the perfect picture.
 
Andysnap said:
Now don't you go off thinking that you need a really wide lens for landscapes, 18-55 is fine I generally use a Sigma 24-60mm and if I need to stitch a couple together. I find with ultra wide angle lenses that you get a huge expanse of tiny things in the distance and little detail.
You're certainly in a good spot for landscapes though and sunrises along that coast are fairly spectacular if you find the right spot. so, as has been said, take a notebook and jot down anything/where of interest for future reference. ND grads are useful but not essential and personally I don't like HDR unless its very subtle. If you haven't got grads a tree or a cloud work just as well.
Looking forward to seeing your results.

Andy
Click to expand...

Thanks. A new lens is a while off anyway due to lack of funding (lottery and old ernie haven't been kind to me recently :lol:) so will be using the lenses I have for now.

Rooster said:
Take the shot from low down and try to have something in shot off to one side, even if it's just a pile of rocks or a fencepost or whatever. Not a rigid rule, of course. Use your widest aperture, f/22 or whatever it is, to keep as much in focus as possible. Use a polariser (CPL) filter to deepen saturation and cut out reflections. Wait for the "magic hour" around sunrise/sunset and use a remote shutter release (cheap on ebay). You could bracket the shot and do an HDR pic if you're feeling adventurous. Take lots of shots at various exposure lengths/ISO settings. Maybe you could take the land from one and sky from another and combine them in Photoshop to make the perfect picture.
Click to expand...

I have one of the Nikon remotes (can't remember the product number now).

And yea, once I get some experience in landscape photography, I may try bracketing the shot and doing some HDR as I enjoy working in Photoshop.
 
Don't rush to but the 10-20, it's best to find your "style" first - you may find the 10-20 doesn't work for you. I tried one for a while but recently sold it as it was just too wide for my own preferences..

the best thing to do is get out there as often as you can and practise, I'm still doing it and learn something nearly every trip !!

simon
 
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