TIPS from Gary Ladd
Here is a sequence of Gary's thoughts on what makes a good landscape photograph and what has to be done to capture it.
First, almost all successful photographs reveal PATTERN. The pattern may be on any scale from mud cracks to mountain peaks. The pattern must be stressed and underscored and nourished by the photographer. Even dramatic color, the oft sought goblin many Southwestern landscapes, had better exhibit a pattern. In most photographs the inherent pattern is absolutely VITAL. Photographs live or die on the patterns they reveal.
Second, in order to capture the pattern effectively the photographer MUST MOVE IN CLOSE. That's right, MOVE IN CLOSE. But by this I do not mean the use of a close-up lens. In order to reveal the essential pattern the photographer must choose the lens and the shooting position that best develops the pattern. "Move in close" with a wide angle lens to accentuate flowing lines or include more pattern. "Move in close" with a telephoto to eliminate extraneous elements. "Move in close" by getting closer, by getting lower, by whatever means it takes to STRESS the pattern. In this way, you MUST MOVE IN CLOSE.
And third, in one way or another, mentally or physically, revealing that pattern to best advantage is PAINFUL. It is painful to carry a tripod, it is painful to climb to a better vantage point. It is painful to get down on your stomach with a wide angle lens, it is painful to wait for a break in the wind, it is painful to get up before daylight, it is painful to struggle with contrast and composition problems. It is painful to stay on the ball, to be vigilant, aware and prepared. Pain, pain, pain. Anything for a stupid pattern, but isn't it wonderful when we get that super shot!!!
 Gary Ladd is a free-lance landscape/nature photographer using both the 35mm and 4x5 formats. He specializes in photographing the desert canyons and mountains of the Colorado Plateau region of Utah and Arizona but also works in the Sierra and Rocky Mountains. Many know his name from a spectacular lightning display he photographed over Kit Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. His images have appeared in Life, Smithsonian, Arizona Highways, National Geographic Books, Modern Photography, Geo, Readers Digest and others.
|
