When it comes to landscape photography, one of my main goals, technically, is to get a super-sharp shot with everything in the scene in focus.

Helping me reach that goal is my new camera/lens combo for landscape photography: Canon 5DS and Canon 11-24mm lens.

Emotionally, my goal is to try to put the viewer in the scene, saying to himself or herself, "I'd like to be there," or "I'd like to be photographing in that location."

I took the above shot (actually an in-camera HDR image) in Croton on Hudson, New York, where I lead two Rick's Backyard Photo Workshops a year. They are listed on my 2016 Workshops page. We are about one-hour north of New York City.

Basic Landscape Photography Tips

Most of my landscape photographs, as well as seascape and scenic photographs, show the entire scene in focus. For maximum depth-of-filed, choose a wide-angle lens (the wider the better), set a small aperture (the smaller the better) and focus 1/3 into the scene.

To create a sense of three dimensions in a two-dimensional image, use a foreground element or elements. Shadows can also add a sense of depth to an image, as can photographing a subject from an angle (as opposed to straight on).

If a close foreground element and aperture combination don’t allow you to get everything in the scene in focus, you can use a feature in Photoshop called “focus stacking,” which lets you combine pictures taken at different focus points in to a single image in which everything is in focus.

When it comes to composition, placing the horizon line in the center of the frame is usually a no-no. With reflections, however, that can work quite effectively. But generally speaking, if the foreground is interesting, place the horizon line near the top of the frame, and vice versa.

Important filters for landscape photograph include a polarizing filter and a ND (neutral density filter). A polarizing filter can reduce reflections on water and foliage. It can also make a blue sky look darker and white clouds look brighter

A good tripod and a good ball-head are important for steady shots in landscape and seascape photography. I recommend Really Right Stuff tripods to all my photo workshop students.

Super serious photographers who want the sharpest possible image (least amount of camera shake) always mount their camera on a study tripod, use the mirror lock-up feature on the camera, and release the shutter with a cable release, self-timer or app – even in bright light.

I hope to see you in Croton on Hudson someday! It's a great place to photograph, and to learn about photography.

PLJ,
Rick Sammon
Canon Explorer of Light since 2003

For more tips on getting super-sharp shots, check out my latest book, Creative Visualization for Photographers.

I would like to start off with a big hello and a Happy New Year to everyone here today. I would also like to give a warm thank you to Rick for inviting me to blog on his website and now even have a featured spot once a month. One Saturday each month I will be writing a new blog and discussing some fun topics. Rick and I will be calling this day “Shoot with Spike Saturday!” Having said all that, let’s get into the first of my guest posts for 2016.

Being the time of year where people set goals and resolutions, let us play off of that and talk about some photography. More specifically - setting goals before you arrive at a location to shoot. I always set a goal in the back of my head before I even walk out the door. Whether it’s a hotel room while traveling, or my home for a nearby shoot, I do not leave without setting some sort of goal. Sometimes I set a big goal, and sometimes it’s a small goal, but nonetheless I set a goal.

Fulfilling a goal afterward is a wonderful feeling and provides a sense of achievement. I will also be the first to admit, there have been plenty of times where I was not able to reach a goal I set before a shoot, but this is a win/win situation ultimately. This has taught me extreme patience and given me the ability to analyze my results fairly efficiently. I ask myself “What could I do different next time?” I learn from my mistakes and try my best not to let them repeat themselves. It helps me solve problems in the field. Sometimes I have to hit the same location more than once as a part of the learning process. In the end though, I hit my goal!

Now of course you do not need to have been to a location previously to do this. You just need some research, and maybe even a little bit of thinking outside of the box. As for me, I often go shoot within the deserts of Arizona and venture off road. But beforehand, I scout Google maps for terrains and roads. I have apps on my phone that allow me to keep track of things like weather, winds, cloud coverage and even what elements are where within the sky. On a typical night, I might be going for a sunset shot, or shooting the Milky Way, but either way, checking on the weather helps me decide if my goals are obtainable. If I see clouds coming in, then shooting the Milky Way might not be my best option, however this could tell me I have a chance at a colorful sunset, for example.

There’s other ideas for goals too. How about some specific shots? Some ideas could be:
•    Macro - see what’s really up close within your location
•    Black and white - learn to visualize the end result, before shooting
•    HDR - practice capturing a higher dynamic range within the scene
•    Video - nice for projects or sharing
•    Specific compositions - do things you have not done before, experiment, learn
•    Time lapse - broaden what you know
•    Set a goal in processing - textures, colors, crops, be creative

Now that I have your gears turning and you’re thinking about the goals you can set, I will share an image that took quite a bit of planning this past November.

Check out the opening image, and then let’s discuss what was involved, so you can see my process started well before I arrived to my location. My goal was to capture a star trail pic with the North Star, Polaris, right behind the tip of a cactus. This would create the illusion that the star trails are expanding outwards from the tip behind the cactus. I also wanted a traditional “Arizona” looking cactus, as I felt this was important to complete the shot I imagined.

The first thing I did within the planning stages of this image was check the weather for clear skies, throughout the night, because these shots require many 30 second captures. Then I needed to make sure the moon was very close to the new phase, or would be below the horizon during my shoot times, to eliminate the light the moon illuminates. Afterwards I needed to select a location that faced North and away from the Phoenix city lights. So I chose an area near the Superstition Springs Mountains outside of town here. I selected a hiking path that was about 2 miles each way. I was somewhat familiar with this area and knew that this trail has a lot of cactus along the way, so I was out here scouting for the one that would allow me to shoot north, and had a nice shape to it.

Finally after finding the perfect cactus and the weather cooperating, it was time to set up. This involved placing my tripod and camera so that the little star/spec you see (Polaris), was precisely behind the center tip above the cactus. Now don't be fooled. It did take me about 20 minutes and several very tiny adjustments to finally get the position exactly where I wanted it. After I had my composition and camera settings established, it was time to set my intervalometer and just sit back while the magic was captured.

Once I finished, it was time to get home and stack these shots to see if the juice was worth the squeeze. I was very happy to see that it was when I processed the results! These shots were the only ones I took that night (aside from setting up) to create this single image. I was very focused and determined to get this specific shot, but I did have to be realistic and make sure everything aligned up right for me, to ensure the best results and accomplishing my goal.

Below is one more shot from last fall that required quite a bit of patience, but again, I was very happy with my end results.

The biggest thing about capturing and planning this shot was watching social media. Everyday for a few weeks as fall approached, I briefly looked at a Facebook group for my state. This image is from a popular area called Lockett Meadow, but it’s about 2.5 hours from my house, so I was not going to have many chances to capture what I was picturing in my head. This only took about 5 minutes each day, and I was just watching for people to describe their hikes in this area, and/or post their shots, along with seeing what they said about the changing colors in the area.

Lockett Meadow is always a gorgeous area, but the window to find it colored so golden like this is a very small one. I started noticing people were saying there was lots of fall color, but I also noticed that the best colors were high up on the trails. I could see in some of the shots online that there was indeed tons fall foliage, but again, it was high up on the mountains where the bike trails were. So I decided to jump in my Jeep that weekend and off I went. My goal was to get up on to the high bike trails and see what it looked like from up top and shoot there. This was a bit of a hike in, but I did not let that discourage me. Once I arrived, it also took some time to finally capture my shots from up here. There was a lot of bikes coming through constantly and most of them would jump off and take pics of each other in this scene. I couldn't blame them for that! So I spent about 90 patient minutes waiting to get enough time to compose and find something I liked. The point again though - is that I practiced extreme patience, did not let anything steer me from what I wanted to obtain, and kept a strong focus on capturing my envisioned picture.

So for your new year, make sure you set some goals before leaving for a shoot. It’s tempting to just wing things once arriving somewhere, but you do not need to make complex goals. Just start with some simple ones and try some tasks that you have not done before. Envision the end result. Research areas before arriving. There’s tons of apps out there now to help with things like weather, photogenic spots, maps, etc and many of them area free. It’s a great feeling of satisfaction when you accomplish what you set out for, as with all things in life. So make some goals and knock them out with your photography this year! Happy New Year to all of Rick’s visitors and have a great 2016! I can be found on some of the various social media networks and of course my website.

Please visit my website to see more of my photographs.

Until next time! -Spike

• • • • •

Thanks Spike for an informative and insightful post! Thank you Alex Morley for taking this picture while Spike and I were shooting on our Oregon Coast photo caravan workshop.