Learning Thread — Landscape Photography

06/09/2006 08:52:28 AM · #826

Originally posted by OdysseyF22:

I think this is just one of the aspects of photography - different pics will appeal to different people for different reasons.

And, of course, I have to throw my $0.02 in...

When I look at Justin_Hewett's hiker, the effect for me is exactly the opposite of what has been explained thus far: due to foreshortening, the lack of recognizable objects farther into the frame, and the fact that everything is essentially in focus, the "mountain" looks to be just 6 or 7 times the height of the hiker, or maybe 40' tall. Without either depth cues (i.e. some portion of the image out of focus) or another scale cue, such as another hiker, I just don't get the feeling of "darn that's big!"

By comparisson, the little dot on top of the canyon wall in this shot:

is both large enough to make it somewhat obvious that it is a man, far enough into the picture to make you believe that he's a long ways off, and there's sufficient change between the foreground (the guy) and the background (the lighter colored canyon walls) that scale, while not blatantly obvious, is at least apparent.

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

06/09/2006 10:42:39 AM · #827

A benefit of discussions like this is we gain the perspective of widely varying opinions. That helps each of us expand and refine our own views.

I'm very limited in the ways I include people in landscapes and would like to expand my horizons. Other than scale I occasionally try to show how humans fit into their environment. That is about it.

Beyond simple scale, I'm curious how to "humanize" a landscape. Why do you include people in your landscapes and what techniques do you bring to bear to make their inclusion effective? What are your thoughts?

06/09/2006 10:52:56 AM · #828

Originally posted by stdavidson:

While I haven't done this (yet), I could see the inclusion of a motorcycle rider leaning into the turn in a photograph of a curvy road through a forest. I don't know if including people here is a humanization of what I'd like to be doing on the road or having the lean of the motorcycle being used to provide scale for the twistyness.

I'm kinda reaching here, though. Like stdavidson, I don't take many landscapes with people in them.

06/09/2006 11:49:18 AM · #829

In Justin's picture, the figure does, indeed, provide a much-needed sense of scale. I don't agree with fracman that it "does the opposite", and here's why: The terrain itself provides a sense of relative scale, because we can see the features of it receding in size. The figure provides a sense of absolute scale, a yardstick to judge the scale of the terrain features in human terms. However, the figure is too lost in the landscape to work as effectively as we'd like: if he were wearing, say, a red jacket, this would be better.

Fracman's image is a wonderful example of using a figure for scale. As far as lighting goes, it's only a so-so image, but it really does show how useful that tiny little figure can be.

I haven't used figures in the landscape much at all lately, but here are a few:

Robt.

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

06/09/2006 12:11:08 PM · #830

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

As far as lighting goes, it's only a so-so image

Yeah, that set of pictures fell prey to one problem that always hits me: my vacations are usually sight-seeing trips rather than photo trips where the goal is mostly to see as many "important" things as possible in the week I'm gone. As a result, I usually lack the luxury of going to a site multiple times, carefully choosing time of day, etc. and am subject to the wiles of the weather. The Grand Canyon series suffered from weather conditions, as there was quite a bit of haze in the air, and we were there late in the afternoon. Between the haze, the high contrast range on the light, the limitations of the camera, and my wife being sick, I mostly ended up with "we were there" happy-snaps.

How do you guys do shoots? I know that some of you live in scenic areas, but is it common to do shooting trips rather than vacations? If so, do you bring your significant others along?

Prism

Pentax K-30

06/09/2006 01:49:55 PM · #831

I tend to not include people in my landscape shots but in the examples shown, it is easy to see how it can make a big difference to your perception. In bear_music's examples, the posture of the person in the first shot leads me to believe it was a very windy day even without reading the title. The figures in the last two shots IMO provide depth to the shot so you can appreciate the distances that are covered by the shots as well as adding an extra bit for interest.

I dug through some of my old shots and only found a couple where I have included people. In the first shot, the people bring the park alive and give it more of a "happy" feel. In the second shot, the woman at the end of the trail is secondary and like an earlier example ends up kind of lost in the scenery.

Message edited by author 2006-06-09 13:51:09.

cools98

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM

06/09/2006 01:49:58 PM · #832

Originally posted by fracman:

The little dot on top of the canyon wall in this shot:

is both large enough to make it somewhat obvious that it is a man, far enough into the picture to make you believe that he's a long ways off, and there's sufficient change between the foreground (the guy) and the background (the lighter colored canyon walls) that scale, while not blatantly obvious, is at least apparent.

I think that is a great use of a person in a landscape. Here is another one I found that I think is a perfect example:

Although not my own photo, I think it is good to have in this discussion. It works perfectly!

Message edited by author 2006-06-09 13:50:21.

06/09/2006 02:24:08 PM · #833

How about something like this?

I know it's the "touristy thing", but it does give a sense of how big (and absolutely beautiful) this place is. And I like the repetition of blue sky, blue skirt.

Would this be more a people picture or a landscape with people picture?

For me, the main reason I'd like to include people in a landscape is to give a sense of proportion. Everybody knows about how big people are, but not everybody knows how big certain places are. I am looking for a couple others like this.

06/09/2006 03:03:36 PM · #834

Originally posted by fracman:

How do you guys do shoots? I know that some of you live in scenic areas, but is it common to do shooting trips rather than vacations? If so, do you bring your significant others along?

When I lived in San Diego, I had to travel a long ways to find landscapes that suited me. I usually did this alone; "shooting trips". But then, I was a professional photographer, so I had an excuse. It's perhaps not as easy for those of you who hold down "real jobs" and have families as well; you can't usually just up anchor and take off on your lonesome.

In any case, I always used topographical maps to plan journeys ahead of time. Once you learn how to read 'em, you can get a pretty good sense of when you need to be where, and you can plan your "circuit" with the family to maximize the possibility of decent light angles.

R.

06/09/2006 03:04:33 PM · #835

Originally posted by ursula:

How about something like this?

I know it's the "touristy thing", but it does give a sense of how big (and absolutely beautiful) this place is. And I like the repetition of blue sky, blue skirt.

Would this be more a people picture or a landscape with people picture?

For me, the main reason I'd like to include people in a landscape is to give a sense of proportion. Everybody knows about how big people are, but not everybody knows how big certain places are. I am looking for a couple others like this.

Definitely a "landscape with figure". Very Arizona Highways :-)

R.

06/09/2006 03:12:56 PM · #836

OK, here's another one. I know it's too dark, and I went nuts with digital noiser removal (bummer, hate that stuff, but sometimes I use it anyway).

I was trying to show the joy that my kids felt at looking at this place (especially because it had been raining all day).

Same with this one:

Not my kids, just a couple watching the sunset.

Message edited by author 2006-06-09 15:14:47.

06/09/2006 03:15:03 PM · #837

Originally posted by ursula:

Yeah, you went insane there. That one's sort of a hybrid shot. It's got people, it's got structure, it's got landscape, all working together.

R.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM

06/09/2006 03:16:55 PM · #838

OK, so the idea I guess is to go out and make "new" images with people in the landscape.

That's hard.

cools98

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

06/09/2006 03:31:12 PM · #839

So I guess we all just quit our "real jobs" now, and go out and take some photos. Yeah!

Or maybe just hope that there is some free time here in the next couple of days.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

06/09/2006 03:34:47 PM · #840

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Definitely a "landscape with figure". Very Arizona Highways :-)

R.

Hey, maybe that's a good challenge idea -- we've already done National Geographic.

06/09/2006 03:48:53 PM · #841

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Definitely a "landscape with figure". Very Arizona Highways :-)

R.

Hey, maybe that's a good challenge idea -- we've already done National Geographic.

haha! Kinda limits the potential entrants doesn't it?

R.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

06/09/2006 04:28:48 PM · #842

It could have a more open description; "shoot a street, road, highway, path, or other public right-of-way in the style of the magazine Arizona Highways."

I think composition and lighting are more important than the specific objects/places depicted.

Message edited by author 2006-06-09 16:30:10.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

06/09/2006 04:36:45 PM · #843

Originally posted by traquino98:

So I guess we all just quit our "real jobs" now, and go out and take some photos. Yeah!

Or maybe just hope that there is some free time here in the next couple of days.

I'd like to do that :)

For now, it's just whatever time I get to go somewhere with my family. It would be fun to go on a real photo shoot, I think. As long as there aren't too many people around I suppose.

justin_hewlett

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

06/10/2006 01:20:00 AM · #844

Originally posted by ursula:

Ursula, this one is beautiful! The storm clouds and the play of light on the landscape is simply breathtaking. You couldn't ask for a more dramatic image.

06/10/2006 08:36:03 PM · #845

Since its been raining here, and since the thread "People: To Shoot, or not To Shoot" seems to have died down a bit, I'm going to stray off course a bit and return to a topic I hinted about earlier: shooting within wooded areas.

I've got several nice forest preserves near my home that have rather good scenery in them, but I can't seem to figure out how to shoot in them. No matter what I do, I usually end up with a whole bunch of vertical lines, all pretty much in focus (or all out of focus, but that's not a composition problem :-), but with very little visual interest. The best I've managed so far are pretty much like:

How do I shoot within a forest? Should I be using wide-angle lenses wide open? If wide-angle is the answer, how do I deal with the distortion? Is there some better way to capture such closed in landscapes? How do I deal with such flat lighting?

Jon

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

06/10/2006 08:53:03 PM · #846

Some of my favorite shots are when there's some fog or haze, and you get slanting sunbeams between the trees; my guess is that early morning is the best time to try and find this.

Maybe this is the time to learn about tilt-shift lenses, and what I think is the digital equivalent, the Perspective Correction tool. The problems here are the same as shooting urban architecture; shooting something tall from ground level.

wheeledd

Panasonic LUMIX-DMC ZS100

06/10/2006 09:56:31 PM · #847

Here is an example of a landscape with people:

I don't think this one stands alone as a landscape shot. It is part of a series on the Baylands Nature Preserve. One of the other images is this one:

--DanW

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

06/11/2006 12:44:14 PM · #848

OK... went with Louddog hiking up Wolf Creek near Sedona, Arizona USA. There were lots of people along the creek and we took a lot of landcape images, but this is about the only one I got with a person in it. And it wasn't even there. This was taken on Schebly Hill Rd on the way back while he was taking pictures with his "medium format" camera. You can't tell much from this angle but it is a WWII vintage bellows box camera. I have no idea where he gets film for it. LOL!

Message edited by author 2006-06-11 12:55:25.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

06/11/2006 12:48:35 PM · #849

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Some of my favorite shots are when there's some fog or haze, and you get slanting sunbeams between the trees; my guess is that early morning is the best time to try and find this.

Check out the cover shot from the Muir Woords Park site.

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II