One of the most important elements of landscape photography is the leading element. It’s that one aspect of the image that pulls the viewer right into the frame. On one of my recent tours to Good Harbor Beach we were faced with a very low tide which gave us some very cool mounds of sand created by the tide. This added to the visual aspects of this image by also giving it some texture. The curving structure of the rivulets of sand leading up to the rising sun pulls the viewer into the image.
I shot this in both horizontal and vertical but the vertical to me is much better. It gives the image more depth.
The sun star is much better in this image because the sun is lower, but I still like the vertical even if it does have some sun flare from the filter as the sun was higher.
Last week while on an early morning tour to Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester we were faced with a full moon low tide that seemed to go out forever. Normally this is not a great thing but in this instance it offered our group an interesting perspective on the cliche sunrise photo.
We set up looking for the sunrise over Thacher’s Island and the early morning dawn did not disappoint. It had a wonderful glow about it which started to brighten up the clouds in the south with incredible pinks, yellows, oranges and blues. I kept looking over in that direction at the clouds changing colors and could not help but think that there is a photo there. My Canon 5D Mklll was on the tripod with a longer lens but I had my Sony Nex7 with the wide zoom available. I grabbed this “little” camera and ran down to a large puddle and using the tilting LCD I made some shots at water level of the incredible colored clouds just before sunrise.
I have shot reflections before and know that the best way to photograph using them is very low at water level. Of course this does not work in every case but in this case it works. The mounds of sand in the foreground give this scene a realistic look not just a copy of the scene above and help the viewer look over to the left following the clouds.
This image is not overdone with saturation and and is very real as the color is how I saw it. In my view it’s important not to overdue things in Lightroom or Photoshop as it takes away from the natural scene. When this image was shown to the folks in my tour we moved down to the small pond and made some great images as the sun came up.
People often ask, what gear do I bring when traveling? My response usually is, well it depends on what kind of photography you want to do and what kind of traveling you are doing. If you hiking a lot and planning on shooting landscapes then a small mirrorless camera is a good bet. I have a friend who is a working photojournalist who often hikes in the White Mountains. He swears by his Fuji X100f. This little camera looks a lot like a Leica M3. It has a 23mm f2 lens and 24 mp sensor which is a moderate wide angle at 35 mm since the sensor is an aps-c sensor. It’s light and easy to use and the lens is fast and sharp. No wonder he likes it.
Sony Nex-7 w/Sony 10-18mm lens
Most people who concentrate on landscapes like to shoot at low ISO’s. They shoot at slow shutter speeds and use high f stops for greater depth of field. This brings in the use of a tripod. The one I use and swear by is the Feisol CT-3401 with the Feisol CB-40D ballhead. This is a great carbon fiber lightweight small package that will hold up to all mirrorless gear and DSLR gear up to a 70-200. The ballhead has a quick release system on it that works quite well. It is very similar to the arca swiss type or Really Right Stuff plate systems but I don’t think they are compatible. This tripod folds down to under 2ft. and fits in my luggage which I carry on with me. Pretty amazing.
Leica M-P 240 w/50mm Leica Summilux
All that being said, if you are just walking around and don’t mind a little weight than a DSLR with a good zoom say 28-200 range will serve you very well. It may be all you need. More people are now feeling the pinch in their neck from the weight and are switching to the new mirrorless systems from Sony and Fuji which are outstanding. You will not be sacrificing anything by using one of these systems. For instance I have a little Canon G15 point and shoot that is fabulous. It has a 28-143 f1.8-2.8 fast lens and it does everything I need for just walking around. Does it have it few issues, sure but I have learned how to deal with them. The image below was taken with this camera.
Canon G15
When I travel I bring small and light gear. I am lucky enough to have a Leica M-P 240 and several lenses. I bring with me a 35mm f2, 50 f1.4, 90 f2.8 and a 135 f4. All this fits very easily in a small bag. Also in that bag is a Sony Nex-7 and the 10-15 zoom (15mm-28mm). I use the Leica 90 and 135 on this camera as well with an adapter which gives me a range of 15mm-200mm with the two cameras. I normally just carry the Sony with the zoom and the Leica with the 35 or 50 on it. Or just one or the other camera bodies depending on what I am doing. For me this small modular system works really great instead of the giant L glass for my Canon system. That being said I may just pick up another lens like the Sony 16-70 (24mm-105mm) and not carry the Leica gear at all except for the Leica 135 f4. I fit it all in the Tenba Cooper 13 bag with my iPad. Which brings me to the big question. Do you bring a computer with you? I used to, but not anymore. My new iPad negates having to bring my 13″ Macbook Pro with me. It does fit in the back of the bag I just mentioned but that’s more weight. The iPad fits in that pocket as well and it’s lighter. I can upload raw files to it and just process the ones I want in Lightroom mobile. I can then send the unprocessed raws from my library to DropBox for safe keeping. So as you can see I am for traveling light with as many options as you can without adding weight and bulk.
