Where do you take the majority of your photographs? If you're anything like me, most of your photos will be from vacations or excursions. I think that most of us started photography as a way of documenting what we were seeing away from home so that we could (a) share our impressions with friends and family when we returned, and (b) have something to remember those trips by. We didn't need to record everyday objects because our community knew what they were and we had them as daily reminders all around.
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Most of my photos are still taken on trips to the mountains or visits to my parents back in the UK. What I am noticing, however, is that unless I'm really lucky the first time I go to a new location, I'm getting the better shots on my second and third visits. I've seen first hand what did and didn't work, I've spotted where a composition could have been improved with different light or conditions and I can plan my trip accordingly. A good example of this was our recent trip to Cortina. We had three and a half days to take photos and we knew roughly what the weather was going to be doing on each of those days. I knew I wanted clear skies for the Lago di Croda so that we could see across the deep valley and I knew that a few clouds and some mountain mist wouldn't hurt on our trek round the Tre Cime. I also had a much better idea about what time of day I wanted to be where (and roughly how long it would take to get there). So it often pays to be familiar with the area that we're shooting.
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| Lago Federa || f8, 1/100 s, ISO 200 |
Knowing where the sweet spot was on the slope above Lago Federa (above) helped me set up this shot. I would have preferred it if the larches were yellowing more, but that was my take home message this time; early October is still too early, plus I learned that the Rifugio is open until the end of October. Lessons for next time.
Similarly, I knew from experience that it was best to avoid direct midday sunlight on the north-facing Tre Cime and so we planned the circumnavigation for a day when we knew there would be at least some cloud cover.
Similarly, I knew from experience that it was best to avoid direct midday sunlight on the north-facing Tre Cime and so we planned the circumnavigation for a day when we knew there would be at least some cloud cover.
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| Classic Tre Cime || f9, 1/200 s, ISO 200 |
I've recently taken to regular trips to the local woods with my camera in various conditions, most commonly on quiet Sunday mornings to see what I can spot. As I discover new tricks and techniques, I can practice them here so that when I am 'in the field' those things will seem like second nature. It also stops me from getting rusty between trips.
So, don't leave your camera(s) in the bag when you're at home - get out into your local countriside (assuming you have some) or town and practice those skills.
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| Wood Sorrel in Bloom || f4.5, 1/80 s, ISO 1600 |
Not only that, but every photo I take helps train my composition skills and brings me closer to finding the right aperture for each shot. I'm still working on which f-stop I need for close-up work to get the optimal depth of field. Believe me, there's a lot of trial and error in that process. Normally I end up opening up too much and ending up with a focal depth you could balance a knife on. Apparently, you can have too much of a good thing.
The garden is another super place to practice close-up shots (I hesitate to use the word macro because I know it has a very specific technical meaning). Perhaps detail shots is another way of expressing it to distinguish it from other landscape shots. We have a relatively extensive (actually too extensive) garden in rural Bavaria, about 30 miles west of Munich. Over the last 18 years we've turned it into a cottage garden oasis, a kind of home-from-home. As well as cherry and pear blossom in the spring, I've planted some snakes-head fritillaries and buddleia and we have some beautiful iris with their fine-veined flowers:
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| Garden Iris || f4, 1/500 s, ISO 200 |
I'm really looking forward to spring this year. In autumn I was given some cultivated lady's slipper rhizomes which were duly planted. They should produce some beautiful specimins to shoot (no pun intended). All this flower and nature photography on the doorstep also gives me a badly needed oportunity to practice my post-processing skills.
The other local spot for me is the Ammersee, a local lake that's popular with photographers. From the northern end you can usually see the Alps in the far distance which provides a great backdrop, depending on the focal length being used. And once the sun's down and you're sure there's not going to be an explosion of colour in the blue-hour, there's always time for an Aperol Spritz in the Strandbar at Stegen!
Taking photos on the doorstep also gives you freedom to experiment and fail. You don't want to take the risk of screwing up photos from a once-in-a-lifetime holiday and you might not have the time to practice the more technical arts such as HDR images, focus-stacking or astro photography. What about panning or zoom photos? High-key or low-key shots? All techniques you can safely practice within a few kilometres of home and if you muck it up, well there's always tomorrow!
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| What's SUP? Sunset at the Ammersee || f7.1, 1/125 s, ISO 100 |
Taking photos on the doorstep also gives you freedom to experiment and fail. You don't want to take the risk of screwing up photos from a once-in-a-lifetime holiday and you might not have the time to practice the more technical arts such as HDR images, focus-stacking or astro photography. What about panning or zoom photos? High-key or low-key shots? All techniques you can safely practice within a few kilometres of home and if you muck it up, well there's always tomorrow!
So, don't leave your camera(s) in the bag when you're at home - get out into your local countriside (assuming you have some) or town and practice those skills.
Where are your favourite local spots?
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