February 2018 Outdoor Photography 31IT’S IN THE DETAIL
When we think about landscape photography it is oft en
in terms of sweeping views; photographs on a grand
scale that capture the immensity and beauty of the
countryside. But what of the landscape at your feet? What
about the many patt erns, textures and details in nature?
The small-scale elements that make up the very scenes
we try so desp erately hard to photograph? They too can
be the source of fascinating black & white images.
Unlike the grand view, details can also provide much
more scope for personal interpretation because no
one else is likely to see them in quite the same way.
When you photograph the landscape in miniature, you
set out with no preconceptions. Famous views have
been photographed many times before, so it’s hard
to shoot them yourself without thinking of the images
you’ve already seen. Oft en, what you end up with is no
diff erent or bett er or more creative than anything else.
With details in the landscape this is rarely the case,
because you wouldn’t travel to a location sp ecifi cally
to photograph a small sect ion of rocks or the bark on
a tree. The images you end up with are therefore unique
because they are rarely planned – you don’t know what
you’ll fi nd until you’re there, and the chance of another
photographer producing an image just like yours is slim.
The removal of colour places far more emphasis on
patt erns and textures. It is possible to reveal patt erns
that are not obvious in reality, simply because colour
provides a dist ract ion and the eye cannot see beyond
it. Black & white is also a highly graphic medium, which
reduces a scene to its ‘bones’: lines, shapes and the
play of light and shade become more important.
Right Sandst one hollow, Spitt al beach, Northumberland.
Canon EOS 5D MkIII with 24-70mm lens, ISO 100, 0.6sec
at f/16, tripod
Below (left) Loch Ba’, Rannoch Moor, Scotland.
Canon EOS 1Ds MkIII with 70-200mm f/4 L lens, ISO 400,
1/640sec at f/4, handheld
Below (right) Spitt al beach, Northumberland.
Canon EOS 5D MkIII with 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L lens, ISO 200,
1/80sec at f/32, tripod28_34_Technique_227_SW.indd 31 18/12/2017 15:04