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Capturing landscapes By: Yee Jie Min jiemin.yee@thesundaily.com
The best landscape shots, like those featured in calendars, can leave us breathless with their sheer beauty and soulfulness. They are so effective it’s often like looking out of a window and beholding a part of nature that can leave us in awe. There is no mistaking though that many elements come into play in delivering a picture that moves us. Composition, lighting, technique—these are some of the factors that determine how a photograph turns out, and a good photographer would know that the best landscape shots are effective in showcasing nature in all its glory. But whether it is mountain, sea, snow, or sand that is the subject, pictures that are inspirational in their appeal are not beyond us—not when we have the tools, the technique, and the motivation.  Surreal tranquillity This picture taken in the wilder Xinjiang, China by professional photographer Kelvin Chan, is evocative in its tranquillity what with its surreal quality. Chan has been photographing for calendars since 2002 and has travelled to more then 20 countries in pursuit of inspiring landscapes. Anyone can take pictures, but it takes creativity and skill to produce a visual that is evocative and brilliant. Capturing landscapes does require a lot of patience. A lot of time is spent planning ahead. For instance, you’d have to properly manage you time in order to get the kind of lighting needed for your visuals. In capturing landscapes, always try to put some point of interest in the shot. For example when capturing the sea, coconut trees and seashells will add interest to your photo. Photographing a mountain, you can include a landmark or a sign which would capture the viewer’s attention. Think of it as story-telling.  Those were the words of professional photographer Kelvin Chan. Here, he provides more advise on capturing landscapes: Equipment Although small, compact cameras can take good landscape photographs but mirrorless cameras and DSLRs capture better pictures. Mirrorless cameras like the Nikon1 can take better quality photos compared to a compact camera because of its interchangeable lens and sensor. This type of camera is a good start for those who find DSLRs overwhelming and bulky. Nevertheless, what makes the picture different is the lens. For landscape photography, you need to use a wide angle lens in order to capture the emotion of that landscape. I would suggest getting a DSLR for those who are serious about photography because you will notice the difference in the picture. Besides that, you can try using filters and the most popular one is the polarising filter or what we call a PL filter. This filter is amazing because it can make a blue sky bluer. This allows you to rotate it and at certain angles, it helps cut off sun flare making the colours richer and saturated. It is also important to bring a good, steady tripod when shooting landscapes. Camera Settings Aperture refers to the lens opening and when shooting landscapes it is advised to use a small aperture. An aperture of f/1.4 is considered a big aperture although the number is small and usually we use anything above f/16 for landscape photography to get maximum depth of field. Some people find white balance complicated but built-in white balance in DSLRs today are quite accurate. White balance controls the colour temperature in a picture; it allows you to choose how warm or cool you want it to be. For landscape photos, I try to keep it as original as possible especially if the natural landscape looks great. However if the picture is for commercial use, you might want to adjust the settings or do a little post-processing later. Shutter speed is determined by the light at that moment and the aperture settings. If the aperture is set at f/16, I would need a slower speed if lighting condition is low. Another option is to change the ISO (light sensitivity) if you need to maintain the aperture and speed. For landscape photos, we don't use a high ISO setting because it increases the chances of getting a grainy photo. Usually I will use the lowest setting possible on the camera such as 50. In order to get the right exposure, you will need to use the camera’s built-in light meter. Some photos look washed out because the exposure is not right and to get it right, you need to aim the light meter at the spot you want to get the precise colour. All the above are sort of a guide but no one said you cannot break the rules. When you are a beginner you learn these basic rules but at some point you need to break it to create your own style of photography. Composition Composition is not difficult to master. To me, it is a very personal matter. You can be at the same place, taking the same photo but your shot will be different from others because of the personal aspect. The most common composition is the Rule of Third. In a landscape photo, you don’t want it to be half sky and half ground. You would want either the sky or ground to be a third of the photo. Important elements in an image should be placed along the lines or their intersections. But this rule can be an exception when you want to shoot a photo with a mirror effect. Therefore I cannot say we must follow the Rule of Third; it depends on the photograph you want to achieve. 
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