essential skills: digital photography in available light
Expressive techniques
Sweeping panoramas are not caught by the frame of a standard lens. When a wide angle lens is
attached to include more of the panorama the resulting images may be fi lled with large areas of
empty sky and foreground. This does little for the composition and can make the subject of interest
seem far away and insignifi cant. The lens does not discriminate, recording everything within its
fi eld of vision. Painters recording a landscape have the option of eliminating information that would
clutter the canvas or detract from the main subject matter. Unlike the painter, a photographer can
only remove superfl uous detail by using a carefully chosen vantage point or by moving in closer to
reduce the information that is contained within the frame. If the photographer moves in too close,
the feeling of the broader landscape is lost.
Although it is diffi cult to communicate personal ideas or feelings and capture the mood of a location
it is nevertheless possible and, when achieved, can be one of the most rewarding photographic
experiences. Through increased awareness, careful observation and knowledge of the elements
that create a successful landscape photograph the photographer can learn to achieve expressive
and effective results consistently.
ACTIVITY 3
Compare and contrast a landscape photograph with a landscape painting.
Discuss the expressive possibilities of each medium using your examples to illustrate your
argument.
Choose your examples carefully as representative of the medium.The Apostles - Mark Galer