Looking for Detailed Landscape Photography Compositions
Show Notes
The second part of a vlog entry about the pressure I am feeling to get perfect photographic conditions. While recording this film I didn’t realise it would be as long as it was and I ended up splitting into 2 parts while editing.
In the first part (you can watch that here: https://youtu.be/vF2l2FREx9g ) I was discussing how I have been feeling a bit under pressure with photography, always feeling like I am missing the best conditions and a little burnt out trying to do photography. The solution that I found was just to slow down, and enjoy being outside in nature. To ease the pressure and not worry if I don’t take any images or if I take an image and later find that I don’t like it. These things happen when working as a photographer.
After talking through these feelings and ideas, I decided to wander along the edge of a loch in the Cairngorms National Park. Hoping that some inspiration would come as I walked, explored and let my pressures wash away.
As luck would have it, a couple of ideas came to mind and I tried to take some images. The weather conditions were awful, drizzly, grey and midge ridden. So large vistas or grand views were not going to happen. Instead I started to look for the intimate details within the landscape.
But again my luck would turn and on the way back, I managed to get a reflection shot of the landscape beyond. And my favourite images of the morning happened after I stopped recording, you can still see them in the video and below though!
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Onto the Images
As I was wandering around the loch, looking at the landscape and thinking about what was there, I thought the rocks along the shore of the loch would make a nice composition.
I grouped these 3 together. I enjoyed their rough shape and strong textures, the mottling of the geological formations. I wanted to contrast these strong, rough rocks with the soft and flowing nature of water.
There was a lot of glare on the water from the clouds reflecting so I used a polariser to remove that but it makes the water almost invisible. It was so crystal clear!
As I made my way around the loch these logs sitting in the water were an interesting find, I continued walking but as I made my way back around I saw their reflections in the water and tried to make a composition from them.
To be honest, I’m not a big fan. I tried to reposition to get the gap between the logs to be a bit smaller but every other position I tried meant the background became cluttered with the reflections of the trees and land beyond them.
As I explained in the video, I want the reflections of the logs and the clouds but not the reflection of the land beyond. Hopefully on a return visit, I can find the composition that I want.
Other than the rocks, this subject is what stood out to me the most that morning. The textures of the broom plant were interesting to me. I know that not everyone will like this as a subject but that doesn’t matter, I do.
The way the fronds of the broom all stand up and build layer upon layer of growth, that I think makes an interesting image. An often overlooked plant in the landscape.
I spotted these reflections as I was walking back, the first time as soon as I got my camera on the tripod the rain started and the reflections were wiped out. Luckily only a few minutes later the reflections came back.
Fiddling with the composition, I tried different focal lengths. I prefer the more zoomed in composition to the more panoramic one. But I like both images. My only annoyance is the drastic amount of haze over the hills that make it difficult to easily see the landscape. I couldn’t remove it in post processing, so I have to live with it in this image.
As I explain in the video, I wanted to focus on textured images on this day. Slowing down and looking beyond what was immediately in front of me. I was drawn to the textures of the reeds and I thought the pine trees beyond would give an interesting contrast to the reeds and their reflections.
But as I was processing the image I soon realised it is very cluttered without a clear subject for the viewer to focus on. So another image that I’m not very happy with, but there will always be images that you think work until you look at them some more.
As I was leaving and heading home, I saw the most amazing sight of rain and clouds moving across the landscape but being illuminated by the morning sun. I quickly went to a spot that I knew and got my 2 favourite images of the morning. Ironically they are grand vistas or viewpoints, which earlier in the day I had said I was getting disappointed when the light didn’t come. But in this case the light was there and luckily I was too.
I had already filmed my sign off twice that morning. After the first time, I managed to get the reflection shots. So I decided not to film the taking of these 2 images, but rather enjoy the moment to myself, and admire the light flying across the landscape. When I got back I filmed a quick little scene about this encounter so I could include the images in the film.
The first image, although it looks black and white, it is as it was recorded by the camera. The contrast of the rain and mountains created a monochrome effect on the landscape, so I didn’t need to convert it in post.
For the second image, as the rain cleared and the mountains beyond revealed themselves, the light fell beautifully onto the hill in front. The blooming heather all around me made for the best foreground interest and brought a lot of colour to the image.
Going forward, I am going to take my time, slow down and enjoy my time in nature. I’m going to worry less about getting an image and detach myself from the pressure of photography. I’ll continue to look for subjects but if I don’t get an image, then it’s not the end of the world.
I hope you are looking forward to the next instalment in which I will be photographing Red Grouse! Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
About the Film
Just a little information about the film and how I made it, as well as some links to equipment.
I edited the film using the Free Version of DaVinci Resolve. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of software that I am still trying to understand and will possibly write an article about in the future.
The music in this video is a track that I licensed from Premium Beats by ShutterStock called:
Bon Voyage, The Expedition and The Explorer by Origami Pigeon.
A short Kit List
These are affiliate links, which means if you follow them and make a purchase I will earn a small commission for referring you to Amazon UK. You can find out more about affiliate links here.
Main Vlog Camera is a simple Panasonic G80 with the kit lens, its a great little mirrorless camera that I got for the sole purpose of creating YouTube videos. It’s capable of filming in 4k and seems to do everything that I want it to.
Rode Mic, I got this little microphone to boost the audio quality from the inbuilt microphone.
Action Camera, I use this to film myself when walking. It’s a simple DJI Pocket Osmo camera that has a motorised 3 axis gimbal head, which means that I stay in focus and static while the landscape around me moves. It’s also capable of filming in 4k and the audio quality is quite good.
Voice Recorder, to boost the audio quality when it’s windy or I’m using the action camera I use this handy little voice recorder with a lapellier microphone to record audio.
For a complete Landscape Photography Kit List you can read through what equipment I take with me when I go out here.
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Written by Daniel Long
Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.
