Advice needded from all Landscape photogs! :D

[CRman]

Being new to DSLRs, I want to focus mostly on landscape and waterfalls. Any good advice? I shoot a D80, have a tokina 12-24 f/4, 17-35 f/2.8-4 sig and a host of others for gereral shoots.

Just looking for methods you used for bettering your landscape photography. When to use what filters, lighting, what to avoid and so forth. Maybe help explain ND filters and the difference in the colors (shades) filters for black and white photos.

I picked up Understanding exposure (book) and it helped open my eyes. Any good books or dvds for landscape photos?

Thank you in advance and hope for some responses.. all are greatly appreciated!!

Mar

 

[Helen B]

It depends a lot on what you like. One of my favourites is the old Lustrum Press compilation Landscape: Theory.

An alternative, more mainstream, viewpoint is offered by David Ward's Landscape Within.

Neither of those are technical books, however.

Best,
Helen

 

[Big Mike]

Use a tripod. Besides the obvious fact that it will help to maximize the sharpness, it will allow you to stop down the lens and shoot with longer shutter speeds. Use a remote or the self timer and mirror lock up if you have it.

Also, using a tripod makes it easier for you to slow down and study the scene and to think about your composition.

I almost always use a circular polarizer when shooting outdoors...especially landscapes. There are several benefits and you can really change the look of a water scene by rotating the filter.

With film, I used to use some graduated filters...but with digital, I don't bother. If there is a wide range of tones, I will just bracket my shots and I always shoot in RAW. That gives me a few options when it comes to editing them.

Good post processing can make a big difference as well.

Landscapes have the been the subject of photos, since the beginning. Painters have been doing them for centuries...there were probably landscapes painted on cave walls. The point is that there are plenty of things to study and to find inspiration from.

 

[Big Mike]

I forgot what could be most important. Think about the time of day and the direction of the sun light.

A scene may look terrible at 1:00pm....but be spectacular at sunset. Another scene may be best at sunrise (get up early and get there well before the sun actually rises).

Oh ya, for shooting waterfalls. A polarizer and/or a neutral density filter is handy to have with you.