Most advanced photographers will agree that in order to take good pictures, one must first understand the properties of light. Light is the foundation of all photography. Without it, a photograph can not exist.

When we look at some of the finest landscape and nature photography in the world such as the work of Ansel Adams, it is hard to ignore how important a role light plays in the making of a successful image. Learning how to see the infinitely varied qualities of natural light and then learning how to harness those qualities in a two dimensional image is the basic skill which enables the photographer to create beautiful images.

Simply put, your state of the art, digital SLR can never possess this ability all on its own. However, if you can cultivate your ability to observe light in all of its varied qualities, I can guarantee that you will then be able to create beautiful images with any camera you choose.

Of course, there are other elements which make a photograph successful. Among these are composition and camera technique. With regard to composition there are many rules, which have been practiced since the pre-Renaissance days of painting. I will discuss some of these compositional guidelines as they pertain to the various images in this tutorial. However, it is important to understand that these are in fact guidelines, not laws. Knowing how to effectively frame an image will go a long way towards improving the quality and content of your photographs, but more important is knowing when to break these rules in order to maximize your creative potential.

Good camera technique is yet another important part of the image making process. As with any craft, having and knowing how to use the right tools at the right time is crucial to attaining the desired result.

For each of the images that appear in this tutorial, I had to make my own judgments about how to best treat the quality of light, how to frame the shot, and what sort of equipment to use for each shot. One of the conditions that I set for myself was to produce a large variety of images within a limited time frame. The main idea I wanted to express for this tutorial is that great images are possible at any moment. Sitting around and waiting for the "right" light or for some amazing natural phenomenon to appear before your eyes is really a waste of time and will not help you produce good photographs. Learning how to take interesting photographs in any situation is far more important than waiting for the prize winning shot to come to you.

With this in mind, let's explore some of the photographic possibilities that exist out in nature. I think you'll find that the prize winning images you have been dreaming about are not necessarily out there in some remote exotic location half way around the world. Rather, your best images just might be hiding in your own backyard waiting for you and your camera to stumble upon them.

Planning the Weekend Excursion
As mentioned above, I was working within a limited time frame to capture as many interesting images as I could depicting the various landscapes and natural details that make up the Monterey Bay. I wanted to make a series of images, which would describe the natural features and characteristics of the Monterey Bay to a viewer who has never been to this area. In a way my approach was not unlike that of a travel photographer assigned to document a far away location for a magazine or travel brochure. The idea is to capture a large variety of interesting images, and to return home before going broke. Easier said than done!

In planning my weekend, I knew that I wanted to cover a large area. My first step was to pull out a map and pick three or four locations which represented most of the different natural settings of the Monterey Bay. I chose a forest area, an open flora and fauna area, an area with a wide panoramic view, and a natural state beach.

On Saturday, my first day of shooting, I decided to go for an easy morning hike through the redwood forest in Aptos, California. I brought along a compact digital SLR (an Olympus E-410) with a couple of zoom lenses and a light-weight tripod.

A short distance from the trail head, I found my first photo opportunity, a grove of redwood trees with a wide patch of open space right in the middle. My first reaction was to compose this shot looking straight up at these towering giants (figure 1). I mounted my camera to the tripod, positioned it close to the ground, and used an ultra wide angle zoom lens to include as much of the trees as I could.

Basic Compositional Guidelines
Compositionally, there are a couple of guidelines that I followed to help make this image visually effective. One of these compositional guidelines is the use of converging lines, which lead the eye towards a single focal point. In this case all of the tree trunks create a pattern of receding lines. This is illustrated with the blue lines in the diagram below (figure 2).

Another compositional element used for this image is the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds basically states that when the frame is divided into an equidistant tic-tac-toe board, the main focal point should be placed on one of the four intersections. The general idea is to place the main focus of the image off center. Doing this usually creates a more dynamic composition. In this case I placed the focal point, the patch of blue sky, near the top left intersection of the imaginary lines dividing the image into thirds (figure 2).

Looking for Interesting Textures
One of the unique features of the northern California coast are the magnificent redwood trees, which can grow as tall as 350 feet and as wide as 20 feet at their base. Redwood bark has a very distinctive color and texture and this is what I wanted to capture with the image you see here (figure 3).

The biggest challenge in taking this shot was dealing with the extremely low lighting conditions under the dense shade of the forest canopy. Taking a quick light meter reading from the tree bark (using the built in light meter on the EVOLT E-410), told me that I would need an exposure of about 1/30th at f/2.8.

However, I knew that in order to get good edge-to-edge sharpness, I would need to maximize the depth of field. My first step was to frame the shot with the camera mounted securely to the tripod. Then, I took another light meter reading from the surface of the bark, this time keeping my aperture dialed to f/22 (the maximum setting). The resulting shutter speed was 2 seconds. This required me to use the timer on the camera in order to trigger the shutter without causing any camera shake.

Using Long Exposures
Many novice photographers tend to shy away from using long exposures unless it is meant for some kind of special effect or for extremely low lighting conditions. However, it is important to realize that the extremely slow end of the shutter speed dial can be useful for many types of images. The example above is just one case where a slow exposure is neccessary in order to maximize depth of field.

To make the next photograph of a leaf resting in a small creek under a slow, gentle current (figure 4), I wanted to achieve two things. First , I wanted to make sure that the rock, the leaf and the background would all be in focus. This would require the use of a small aperture. Second, I wanted to eliminate any sharp, specular highlights from the surface of the water and to convey the movement of the water by using a little bit of controlled motion blur.

To do this, I followed the same principles discussed in the previous image of the tree bark. I set my camera on a tripod, composed the shot, set my aperture to f/16, and my shutter speed to 3 seconds. By using such a long shutter speed, I was able to blur the slow movement of the water while keeping the rest of the elements in the composition sharp.

Keeping Things Simple
As mentioned earlier in this tutorial, interesting nature images can be found almost anywhere. All it takes is to slow down and practice the art of seeing. At first glance, natural environments can seem overly complex and chaotic. When looking for an interesting composition, try to eliminate those elements that are visually distracting and leave only the parts that add value to your composition.

Photographing nature is an exercise in observation. Learning to see the relationship between light, color, shape, and texture is the first and most important step towards developing your own personal vision and style as a photographer. The second step is learning how to keep your vision clear and concise by limiting the amount of information in the viewfinder. As the saying goes, "less is more." This is the common mantra of some of the most successful nature photographers in the world.

At this point in my hiking trip, I knew that I had a few good images to represent the forest environment of the Monterey Bay. It was getting kind of late in the day and the sun was now a little bit lower in the sky. I realized that I only had a couple of hours before sunset so I decided to head back to the car and continue on my journey. As I was about to exit the trail and reenter civilization, I noticed some beautifully back lit leaves hanging down above my head.

Using Light as the Subject
I wanted to capture an image that would show the relationship between the sun and the luminous quality of the leaves. I also wanted to keep a shallow depth of field so that I could selectively focus on individual leaves while keeping the background mostly out of focus. This technique also enabled me to use a fast shutter speed which meant that I could safely hand hold the camera.

I took a ton of shots, trying to keep the composition simple, keep the background simple, and to carefully place the sun directly behind the leaf without blinding myself in the process (I would recommend using sunglasses for this type of shot. Direct sunlight in the viewfinder can be extremely dangerous). The image show here (figure 5) is one of my favorites from the set.

The tiny hint of sunlight peeking out from behind the leaf is exactly what I wanted. This way the light source is just as important to the content of the image as the leaf. I wanted this image to be about light and I feel that this particular capture is effective in that sense.

With the sun rapidly approaching the horizon, I was in a race against time. My next location was at the summit of the Santa Cruz mountains where I knew I could find some nice panoramic views of the sunset. As I raced (trying to observe the speed limit of course) towards the top of the mountain range, I could see the sky already turning to a bright amber and I knew that this color would become more and more saturated within a short period of time.

Waiting for the Magic Hour
Luckily, I was able to reach my destination and find a good vantage point just in time to get my equipment set up and watch the sun slip behind the hills. Since there were no interesting clouds in the sky, I wanted to wait a little longer for the sky to become fully saturated with color. Often the best sunset skies happen about 30 minutes to 1 hour after the sun has set. This brief time between sunset and dusk is often referred to as the "magic hour."

With a cloudless sky and very little detail in the foreground, I did not want to photograph a wide angle panoramic. Instead I opted to use a telephoto lens to pick out interesting compositions far off in the distance. Two of these shots are shown below (figures 6 & 7).

These two sunset shots are another example of how keeping things simple can go a long way towards making an image successful. In the first shot (figure 6), I decided to employ the rule of thirds by placing the trees in the foreground on the bottom third, and the horizon on the top third. With landscapes it is usually not a good idea to place the horizon in the middle. If the sky is the most interesting part of the scene, give 2 thirds of the image to the sky. If the land has more to offer than the sky, give more area to the land. Placing a horizon in the middle usually creates some tension between the two halves. Of course this is only a guideline. If creating a sense of tension is your goal, then you might consider breaking this rule.

On Sunday, day two of my weekend trip around the Monterey Bay, I decided to head down to Garrapata State Beach in Carmel, an old stomping ground for world famous photographer Edward Weston. I figured if Weston was able to produce some of his finest work at this location, I might be able to snap a couple of decent images as well.

Upon arrival to Garrapata Beach, I was instantly awestruck at the variety of exotic, colorful plant life, which literally blankets certain areas. My first impulse was to pull out my macro lens and to try taking some closeups.

Getting up Close
The image shown on the right (figure 8) was taken with an Olympus EVOLT E-410 and a 50mm f/2 macro lens. I found this interesting plant hidden inside of a large rock crevice. The plant itself (which I was not able to properly identify) was only about 4 inches in diameter, but its radiant color grabbed my attention right away.

This image is yet another example of using the rule of thirds to place the focal point away from the center of the frame. More importantly, this shot is an example of using a limited color pallet, which is a way to keep an image simple and to increase visual impact.

By using a macro lens, I was able to fill the frame with the blue plant and to exclude any other distracting colors and textures in the surrounding environment. Also, by coming in close it is easy to distort the sense of scale in the image making it nearly impossible to tell just how big or small the subject really was.

This image of a tiny yellow flower (figure 9) is also a macro shot. The actual flower was not even an inch in diameter. Nevertheless, isolated against a clean background, it looks like a giant.

I should note that all of these macro shots were taken without a tripod. This is not the best practice, but it is also not impossible if you have enough light and a steady hand.

This bee shot (figure 10) was also taken hand-held. As you can probably imagine, following a bee from flower to flower with a tripod mounted camera would have been extremely difficult. In fact, this shot took a lot of tries. My technique was to shoot at about f/8 to allow a little depth of field and to increase the ISO setting to 200. This allowed a shutter speed of 1/500.

Then, I patiently followed a single bee around for about 15 minutes trying to anticipate its movement and concentrating on getting its eyes to be in focus. All I can say is that out of about 50 tries I was only able to get this one good shot!

With another sunset quickly approaching and the sound of bees still buzzing in my head, I decided that it was time to move on. Next on my agenda was to photograph some oceanscapes. After all, I had spent the last two days hiking around some of the most beautiful beaches on the California coast and I still had not taken a single picture of the ocean!

This time I traveled back in the opposite direction towards Santa Cruz. By the time the sun was beginning to set, I had found a nice natural beach with large cliffs that I knew would work for a nice foreground element.

Choosing the Right Equipment to Suit Your Style
For all of images shown in this lesson so far, I had been using an Olympus E-410 digital SLR. For my final location I decided to be a little bit nostalgic, and pull out my old Hasselblad 500CM loaded with Kodak Portra 160 VC film. I mounted the camera onto a sturdy Bogen tripod and used a hand-held Sekonic spot meter to determine my exposure.

One of the things I love about the Hasselblad is the square image format, which challenges me to see things and to compose images in a much different way then I would with a rectangular frame. Also, it is still a widely accepted fact that the image quality, color depth, and resolution of a 2 1/4 inch square negative is hard to beat even with some of the finest digital SLRs on the market. Of course, this will be changing as technology improves in years to come.

The main point is that your choice of equipment should not be dictated by the marketing campaigns of camera manufacturers. Every camera has its advantages and disadvantages. The great thing about photographing nature is that it lends itself nicely to experimentation with a wide variety of cameras: large, small, new, and old.

Photographing the Ocean at Dusk
The image shown here (figure 11), was taken approximately 45 minutes after the sun had set. There was barely any light remaining, but the colors in the sky and on the water were absolutely surreal. Based on my light meter reading and my calculations taking into account the reciprocity failure characteristics of my color film, I determined an exposure of 4 minutes at f/16.

The most obvious effect caused by such a long exposure is that the motion of the water was rendered as a smooth motion blurred mist. Meanwhile, the rock cliffs remained absolutely sharp.

This type of effect is not difficult to achieve and is a great way to turn an ordinary sunset shot into a dreamy, almost painterly type of image. Basically, all you need is a tripod and a long exposure. Things that are still will remain sharp and things that are moving will be blurred. The intensity of the blur will depend on how fast the motion is and the length of exposure.

After taking several bracketed exposures to get the oceanscape image above, I noticed this isolated rock sticking out of the water with waves crashing over it (figure 12). I used a similar exposure (about 5 minutes at f/16), which turned the crashing waves into a soft mist.

As you can see, nature offers the photographer a huge range of possibilities no matter what camera you are using, digital or film, large or small. The most important skill you can teach yourself, is the ability to see things selectively, and to translate what you see into a two dimensional composition.

Learning a few compositional guidelines and mastering the technical components of image making is a good way to minimize mistakes. Learning when to break these rules is equally important to developing your own personal vision and style.

Remember... keep it simple, experiment, and have fun.



Photographed and written by Garry Belinsky, contributing WPS Instructor.