"Point-of-View" As you photograph beautiful landscape elements, take a little extra time (and film) to shoot your subjects from different points of view. Don't settle for just one Viewpoint, unless the surroundings will not permit you to do so. Would this subject be more attractive from over there? Would those rocks make a nice foreground from that side? What does this look like from the back? These are all little questions that might run through your head when photographing a subject. Act upon those questions to find the answers. Slow down, take more time to "work the subject", and don't scrimp on film. Find out which perspective is the most attractive or which offers the best lighting for your subject. The following sequence of photographs were taken of Balanced Rock one cold morning in Garden of the Gods. These photos show you how you can shoot one subject from different views and have each photo communicate a different message or present a different mood about "balanced rock".           "Go Back For Seconds" This tip is to express the successful fact of returning to one given location over and over again, in hopes of having variety and uniqueness in your files. Only photographing a location once means you have one shot at making those photographs stand out from the rest. If, at that one time, you capture the most amazing "moment" in time, then you might be able to tell yourself "there's no need to return", because what you brought home was so unique and beautiful. This may happen, but for the most part, it's best to revisit areas you've photographed, in hopes of bringing home something different each time. This method also puts your creativity to test. The following sequence of photographs was taken using one of my favorite pine trees in Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs. Having this location so close to my home helped for me to make many returns, usually at the spur of the moment. This sample shows you that one location/subject can produce wonderful images each time you visit it. "Shooting Stars" Creating a bright sunstar in your photos can be easy and fun. Sunstars will sometimes give your photos a stronger dramatic effect. Seeing star-rays spike off of the sun is something the human eye doesn't see to often, and when it does, it creates more emotional feelings. Shooting stars can be quite easy, and sometimes a technical challenge. The best star effect is achieved when you hide the sun behind an object and only allow a sliver of the sun to be seen. This is very noticable in the second photo below. The other key to a good star is your aperture setting. Since the star effect is caused by the blades of your aperture, the smaller your aperature opening the greater the effect. Notice the different star effects below with 3 different aperature settings. Three technical challenges come into play when shooting stars, exposure metering, lens flares, and the sun keeps moving. Overcoming those challenges: Obtaining the exposure metering for the images below, I moved the camara until the sun was well out of the frame, then I spot metered a subject element (sky), and based my metering off that reading, then I recomposed with the sun back in the frame. Bracket! Shooting stars can result in distracting lens flares. So, to help eliminate this I will either use a filter or try to compose the image with the sun close to the middle of my frame. If I compose it with the sun in a corner/edge of the frame, I will usually get flares shooting across the image, towards the opposite corner/edge. Experiment! You have to act quickly because the Earth's rotation with not wait on you. Since you are only allowing a sliver of the sun to show from behind an object, the moving sun appears to moving dramatically faster. Very small movements in camera placement, or sun placement, will greatly change the effects or your star. Be quick! Having, and using, your depth of field preview is VERY helpful when creating sunstars. PROTECT YOUR EYES FROM THE SUN!! Especially when viewing it through your camera and a telephoto lens! Have fun!! Photo 1 taken with lens set at 200mm, f32, Fuji Velvia, w/ polarizer Photo 2 taken with lens set at 200mm, f16, Fuji Velvia, w/ polarizer Photo 3 taken with 24mm lens, f22, Fuji Velvia "Changing Light" The #1 key to photography is light, the key to nature photography is "seeing the light" and knowing how and when to use it. Learning when the light is best (like sunrise hours), and learning to see subtle changes in the light reflecting off your subjects will always help produce stronger images. Training your eyes and brain to see the light in ways you're not use to may take a little time and work. Another key is having the time and patience to wait for the light to change. If the light is changing quickly, try waiting around and shoot a couple more shots of the same subject, this gives you more options at the editing table. Below are two photos taken in Garden of the Gods. The first one was taken during first light, at sunrise. Notice the pinkish color on the snowy mountain side and the nice shadows that create the 3D depth. The second photo was taken about 20 minutes after the first, while the warm morning light made the red rocks wake up. The two photos present their own moods and message. The changing light was excellent in both photos. The following two photographs are an example of how the changing light can make or break a photograph. These photos, of Mt. Sneffels mountain range, were taken late afternoon with partly cloudy skies. The first photo was taken while the foreground was covered in a cloud shadow, giving it a very dull, flat, blah feel. Waiting about 5 minutes for the clouds to move, the second photo was shot while the foreground was "popping" with light, giving it more life and depth. Learn to "SEE THE LIGHT" and when to act upon it! "Enhance it?" Enhancing filters are becoming more and more popular amongst landscape photographer who are looking to make those "warm" colors "pop". If correctly used, an enhancing filter can really help deliver a photograph that with twice the emotional and visual impact. Learning to use such a filter takes practice through trail an error because they can also destroy an image by changing the wrong colors. What I've learn is to do is to use the enhancing filter on warm (red/orange) colored subjects that may be washed out due to light or slightly lack in visual impact. If a composition includes lots of blue sky, white subjects (clouds), or other "cool" colors, I will not use the filter. I also incorporate the filter with a polarizer filter to help increase the "depth" of color and the filters potential. My favorite time to use the enhancing filter, along with the polarizer is during a dramatic sunset or sunrise. Another popular time of used is when I'm photographing red rocks (Utah) or other red subjects (flowers). There are several enhancing filters available on the market, varying in price and quality. Search around for the best in your price range. Experiment and have fun turning a typical scene into one that explodes off your film. To me, adding an enhancing filter to my tools is like a painter adding a great new color to his/her palette. It increases my latitude of creativity. Below are two photographs of Fisher's Tower, Utah during harsh early afternoon sunlight. Both taken on Fujichrome Velvia. The first Photograph is taken using a 35mm lens and a polarizing filter. The second photograph is using the same but adding a screw-on Tiffen Enhancing filter. Notice the dramatic difference in the rock color. Notice the slight negative color shift in the white clouds. Also notice the different sky color. Which is better? Which do you keep? This is the artist's decision. Below are two photographs of sunrise near Woodland Park, Colorado. Both taken on Fujichrome Velvia. The first Photograph is taken using a 80mm lens and a polarizing filter. The second photograph is using the same but adding a screw-on Tiffen Enhancing filter. Which is better? Which do you keep? "Snow White" Shooting photographs that contain snow can be frustrating. Bright snow will tell light meters to "underexpose". The key thing to remember is that your camera's reflective light meter is set to render 18% reflectively, or "medium". So, when you meter snow ask yourself; "Is this snow medium white or is the snow above medium - bright, white?" If you meter the snow and make the exposure at what the camera gives you, you'll end up with medium gray snow. The same applies to black subjects, it's just backwards. Black subjects will end up medium gray. This 18% medium rule applies to every color the camera sees. If you shoot medium toned colors only, you're set and you don't have to compensate your meter reading. The best way to photograph snow is to meter the snow and then open up to allow more light. Also bracket to learn just how much to open up, to get the results you want. As a benchmark, sunlit snow will need about 1.5 or 2 stops more light over medium. Shaded snow will be about 1 stop more light. It's best to experiment to find what works best with your camera and film. Snow is also very reflective and can give you results that you didn't expect. Like snow that has a blue tint, or snow that has a color of that what is surrounding it. Experiment with different films and filters to obtain white-white snow. Sometimes having snow reflect the beautiful colors of an evening sky can really make a wonderful image. When snow flies and covers the land, don't shy away from it, and don't be subject to your cameras meters. Make snow white and be creative. "Let There Be Light" Since photography is "painting with light", using the light can be a challenging piece of photography. With all forms of photography: portraits, commercial, sports, or nature, how light is presented or how it's rendered on film is crucial to the photograph success. You can have the most perfect subject or composition, but if the light isn't "right" it can make a weak photograph. For landscape photography you mostly deal with natural light in the form of low warm light, diffused soft light, bright harsh light, or dramatic changing light from clouds and other condition in the sky. With this natural light you'll then be concerned with its direction, contrast, intensity, and how rapidly it changes. You can also use a flash in nature to control light on close-ups or wildlife, this is used to make up for the loss of natural light or to create a different mood or effect. My personal preference is no flash and to use only available natural light. For me, I prefer photographing during sunrise and sunset hours (two hours after sunrise and two before sunset). This gives me low warm light and long shadows to emphasize depth. Also, if the skies are right, before sunrise and after sunset produce fast changing, dramatic colors that I really enjoy. If it's a thin overcast sky, I enjoy doing intimate and close-up photography due to the soft diffused light that enhances color saturation and doesn't produce harsh shadows. I don't like shooting mid-day because the sun is high and makes harsh light with short shadows. The harsh light makes for washed-out colors and a very high contrast. I like photographing in bad whether to capture unique dramatic moments, which means waiting for the light to "pop through" or a special occurrences to make a weather situation really special. When it comes to the direction of light, I prefer side lighting or backlit. Side lighting tends to create more depth on film and you have a greater effect on controlling the viewers eye. A backlit subject can be a challenge to meter, but it really can create some stunning visual effects. Front lighting is my last and least favorite direction of light, it's easier to expose for but can cause the photograph to look flat, or lack of depth. As you become more experience with photography and working with light, you'll learn to "see" light better. When you learn to "see" the light you easily learn to work with it and use it to your benefit. Finally, if you learn to let the light effect your inner emotions and creative juices, you learn how to transfer those wonderful emotions to film. When this happens, that's when my joys of photography really come out!