subscribe 0330 333 er.co.uk I 22 June 2019 19
KITLIST
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▲Tripod
My carbon-fi bre Gitzo
Mountaineer Series 2
is essential. I can trust
it to keep my camera
steady even if the
conditions are less
than ideal.
Filters
I currently shoot with the
LEE Filters 100 kit.
The circular polariser
and 0.9 soft
ND grad are
permanently
on the front of
my camera.Lens cleaner
Small, but infi nitely
useful, especially
if I’m shooting in
changeable weather
or near the coast.
Ultimately, clean
lenses ensure that my
images stay sharp.Use your mobile to
‘sketch’ a composition
When I’m out in the landscape I’m
encumbered with a lot of kit, which
can make it diffi cult to be continuously
changing position. If you’re like me
in this way, one trick is to use your
smartphone to visualise a composition.
Most lenses on current phones are
21-24mm, so comparable to a
wideangle lens. The phone gives me
freedom to move around in the scene
and pinpoint the best composition
without struggling with my kit. And
while I’m there, I’ll likely capture the
scene on my phone for good measure.
Change your
perspective
Photography is a participation
activity – you’re not meant to
stay in one spot. Changing the
perspective by moving the camera
up and down can completely
transform a composition. Placing
the camera close to the ground
can provide a completely new
perspective on a scene and you
might end up seeing a composition
that would not be possible if you
were shooting from your usual
camera position. The same applies
to a higher perspective, especially
if you’re using a wideangle lens and
you’ve got a strong foreground.Leave out the sky
When I fi rst started capturing landscape
photographs I would make sure I had
everything in the frame: the foreground,
background and the sky. This not only
made it a struggle to expose correctly, but
it also made my images quite ‘messy’. On
workshops, I often give the advice to avoid
including the sky in your compositions. This
allows you to concentrate on the scene in
front of you without the distraction of dealing
with bright highlights often found in the sky.Break the rules
However, there are certain circumstances when it’s okay to
‘break’ the rule of thirds, particularly if you’re photographing
refl ections. In this case, it makes more sense (and it’s more
pleasing to the eye) to position the horizon in the middle of
the image so you can maximise the impact of the refl ection.
This can be especially effective if you’re capturing a body of
water like a lake, canal, or even a puddle!The rule of thirds
One of the most basic rules in all of photography, not just
landscape, is the rule of thirds. Instinctively the human eye
knows when something looks correct in an image and more
so when it doesn’t. The rule of thirds encourages positioning
of important elements one third of the way in from the edge
of the frame. The more you practise composing this way, the
more it becomes second nature and you begin to understand
how all the elements should work together in the image.