Nature Photography How To

Because photography is a two-dimensional art, the images we capture—even those of moving subjects—can appear boringly static. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to “unbore” your photos by using the simple shooting method described below.

When professional landscape photographer Ian Plant says there are “five photo accessories I never leave home without,” we stop and pay attention. That’s because of his unique approach to shooting in the field.

One of the most difficult challenges when photographing landscapes is balancing the wide range of tones from deep shadows to bright highlights that often occur in outdoor scenes. In fact, sometimes the density range is so great that’s it’s impossible to precisely exposure the image.

Remember the philosophical question, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound”? Put in photographic terms, “If nobody notices your photos, do they really matter?”

We’ve all inadvertently shot cockeyed photos, and it’s usually because we weren’t paying attention. The most common example is a horizontal landscape image with a tilted horizon, but this problem can also occur with vertical lines when shooting in portrait orientation.

Most of my columns for this website concern the ideas and purposes behind the photographs I take. I always include information about the technology used to achieve the photos, which could be as basic as the f/stop chosen to direct your attention, or the use of a ND filter to make a long exposure possible. That approach is not incidental or coincidental; the stories are planned along those lines because my ideas come first, and technology’s purpose is to support those ideas.