Chapter 9 notes: Landscapes

Landmarks in Landscape Photography

• Carleton E. Watkins - capture the grandeur of the American West
• Photographed in California
• One of the first to have pictures as art
• inspiration - The land and painting
• Ansel Adams - photographed Yosemite Valley to promote conservation and capture how it feels being in the wilderness

Camera Settings

• stop down the lens
• maximum depth of field
• small f-stops 
• longer shutter speeds
• tripod
• sharp
• vibration-free images

Light

• after sunrise or before sunset
• angle of the sun is low
• shapes 
• textures are emphasized by side lighting
• direct lighting 
• 3D

Filters

• yellow - brings out the clouds
• red - deep black skies & stark white clouds
• red filter & polarizer - ultimate black skies & maximum contrast

The Grand Landscape

• Outdoors
• "big view" 
• Can be any nature setting
• Emphasize the clouds in the sky
• Use rule of thirds
• Use polarizing yellow filters to make clouds stand out
• suburban housing tracts - repeating shapes of the houses
• horizon should be placed one-third from the top or bottom
• 19th century - print a sky from one negative onto another negative

Landscape Details & Close-ups

• parks are good spots
• Focus on smaller elements of landscapes 
• Japanese gardens 
• meandering streams
• small waterfalls
• expertly placed trees
• focus on vibrant flowers
• Shoot in cloudy & overcast conditions 
• sunrise & sunset 
• quality of light with a special glow
• light meters -find medium gray

Abstracted Elements in the Landscape

• images of lines, shapes, values, & textures
• Get close and personal to a subject - Macro lens
• Lots of depth and field
• Patterns in nature 
• Interesting shapes and forms