toworkhardertophotographit thanmore
dramaticplaceslikeCornwallorScotlandas
thelandscapeis mostlyflat,butthatmeans
there’smuchmorescopetowanderandto
findyourownphotographs.WhenI run
workshopsintheCanadianRockiesweget
toa locationinthedarktostillfind40-plus
photographerslininguptoshootthesame
scene.I muchprefersolitudeatthattimeof
morningandEastAngliagivesyouthat– at
leastforthemoment.Asit’ssoflat,it’snot
theplacelandscapephotographersflockto
byanymeans,butI thinkpeoplearemissing
out.”ThankfullyPhotographingEastAnglia
makescapturingtheregionmucheasier
thanturningupcold.Justin'sdonemuchof
thehardworkforyou;it'spackedwith
detailsofmorethan 70 locationsandhow
besttophotographthem,whentovisit,how
togetthereandeventhebestviewpointsto
shootfrom.If you'reoflimitedmobility,he's
gotyourroutecoveredtoo.Goingwiththis
bookinyourbagwillhelpyouuncover
potentialyoumayotherwiseoverlook.
Whileflatlandscapesmaysound
uninterestinganda bitbland,theyactually
come with huge benefits – the biggest of
There’sa thrillin
watchingthefirstpastel
coloursofthedayappear
overthefrozenstillness
ofa Broadslandscapeon
a winter’smorning
whichis you’venothingtoobscurethelight
soyouhavea beautifulqualityoflightfor
longer.Yougetthesunlightassoonasit
beginstoriseandlongafterthesunsets;
althoughit canmeansomeeye-watering
earlystarts.“There’sa thrillinwatchingthe
firstpastelcoloursofthedayappearoverthe
frozenstillnessofa Broadslandscapeona
winter’smorning,orstandingona wildand
windybeachasthesun’sfirstraysskimover
the dunes,” eloquently evokes Justin. “But,betweenthegoldenhours,withsuchbig
skiestoworkwith,youdohavetorelyheavily
ontheconditionstomakeanimagework,
perhapsmoresothanusual.If you’vea clear
bluesky,it’sa lotofclearbluesky,whichcan
lookverydull,soI dotendtoonlyshootwhen
theweatherlooksgood– orshouldI saybad.”
Withsuchvast,flatscenesatyour
disposal,yourcreativityandapproachto
isolateandconvertpartsofthelandscape
intophotogenicimagesrequiressoliduseof
visualstructureandcompositionalaidsto
provideinterestandcontrol.Justinusesall
theusualprinciples:leadinglinesfordepth,
suchasmeanderingrivers,weathered
groynesorbatteredseadefences;and
makingbestuseofthesky,oftensplitting
thesceneintothirdstoplaceemphasison
thelandorsky,dependingontheirstrength.
Foregroundinterest,however,is one
approachJustinleansonwhetherthatbeold
boats,rocksorreedsandhedoessowithhis
workhorselens:theCanonEF16-35mmf/4.
The twootherlenseshetakeseverywhereto
usewithhisCanonEOS5DMkIVaretheEF
24-105mmf/4LandEF100-400mm
f/4.5-5.6L IS II, which he says covers a good88 DigitalSLR PhotographyJuly 2019
Clockwisefromtop:“Longexposuresareeffectivefor
capturingthemanyoldseadefencesalongtheEastAnglian
coast;Sealavenderaddsa splashofcolourtothemarshesat
Thornham;Wavescrashingontotheseadefencesat
Happisburgh; A misty sunrise on the Broads at Thurne.”