Good landscapes are usually planned. As a result, choosing the right time to shoot is of real importance.
The dramatic effect of a stormy sky or threatening rain might present you with a much better opportunity to create an image with real mood and ominous overtones.
Luck has a little to do with the outcome as well. Look for storms, wind, mist, dramatic clouds and work with these variations in the weather, rather than just a sunny day.
Many photographers become aware of a great cloudy sky and chase something to place in the foreground.
The Hawkesbury River offers many locations for a local landscape.
Rule of thirds
Don’t put your main subject smack in the middle of your photo. Try to visualize your scene divided into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Then shoot with your subject in one of those areas you’ve mapped out in your mind. Decide whether the sky is the subject of your image, such as clouds at sunset, or maybe the foreground is what has captured your attention.
The lateral thirds can be treated similarly depending upon the major subject and attraction. Experiment, the photograph is yours, show ownership of it by making a personal statement.
Include a subject
Look for a focal point — a building, tree, bridge, rock, wrecked boat. You can then compose your image around it. Using high or low angles can often add interest to your photos, be prepared to get down and dirty or your feet wet. It’s all in the name of good photography.
Never stop at just one or two photographs, move around and use your monitor to check your previous images. Keep checking for sharpness and unwanted distractions. Flare or light rays entering the lens when shooting backlit subjects mean you should shift your shooting position or add a lens hood.
If possible always capture your camera images as a raw file; you can do so much more with that format in post processing.
My preference is to include a little foreground to anchor the viewer’s attention; this can include a frame of surrounding bushland for example. If this feature is included it must be in sharp focus as otherwise it will be a blurry distraction.
Finally some photographers prefer the oblique lighting of dawn or dusk to add creative interesting patterns, dimensions and textures. If you have that time available use it to your advantage. Above all else, own your image. Display what you like and what you are proud of, since it’s your image.
Hawkesbury Council is the major sponsor of the We Are Hawkesbury: 25 Places Photographic Competition.
