Summercan mean difficult conditions,
butstunning shots are still possible
Deal with harsh light
Thereasonmostphotographers don’t like
summerisbecausethe quality of light is
generallylessphotogenic than other seasons.
TheSunrisesquicklyand gets high in the sky,
meaningharshshadows and little textural
relief.Thereismoreatmospheric haze, which
canresultinthelandscape appearing flat and
washedout.
Thedaylengthmakes things tricky, too. In
thenorthoftheUKfor example, the summer
sunriseisaround4.30am (earlier in the
extremenorthofScotland) and sunset after
10.00pmLet’sfaceit,getting on location in
timetosetupforsunrise is a real effort and
stayingoutforsunset will get in the way of
familylife.Whileit’sdefinitely worth making
theeffortonceinawhile, there are ways of
creatingsuccessfullandscape images in the
lessphotogenictimes of day when the light is
harsher.Shootingmonochrome is one option.
Harsher,morecontrasty light can suit black
andwhiteimagesand the focus falls more on
thefundamentalsofcomposition: shape, line,
textureandcontrast.Look for bold, graphiccompositions with a full range of tones from
a pure white to a true black. An ‘active’ sky
full of texture also works well with mono
landscapes. If you struggle to visualise which
scenes will work well in black and white, use
live view and a monochrome picture style to
help you choose.
A natural extension of monochrome is
infrared photography. Harsh, contrasty light is
ideal, with blue skies recorded as deep black,
contrasting dramatically with bright, white
clouds, and foliage becomes a ghostly white,
giving images an other-worldly look. And the
great thing is, the stronger the sunlight, the
stronger the effect.
Digital cameras have an infrared blocking
filter over the sensor so for best results, shoot
with a camera which has been converted.
However, you can experiment with infrared by
fitting an infrared filter such as the Hoya R72.
This blocks light from the visible spectrum,
leaving only infrared light to reach the sensor.
Long exposures are needed and some
cameras give better results than others.Techniques