![]() Photographing forests presents a different set of challenges. Use a polarizing filter to eliminate some of the reflection and increase contrast rotate it until you have the effect you want. You may have to move around a bit to include or eliminate them, or return when the sun is at a different angle. You can use some reflections to enhance the image-the colors of reflected autumn leaves, for instance-but others may just be distracting. Look carefully for reflections in the water. The water can be the center of interest in the image, or it can serve as an element in your composition-as a diagonal or other leading line, as a horizontal line, or as a shape that complements other elements in the frame. A big, slow river looks and feels different from a fast-moving mountain stream. If a river or stream flows through the landscape you are shooting, think about the character of it and how to convey that character in the image. Unless this is the effect you want, you'll either have to modify your composition, shoot it later in the day, or plan to return on an overcast day when both sides will be photographable. Photographing a canyon, for example, you might see that the west wall will be beautifully lit in the early morning, if the canyon is deep, however, the east wall will be in such complete shadow that your camera will be capable of rendering it only as a great black blob. This can take some practice because you also have to look at where the light will not be falling. Carry a compass to figure out where the sun will rise and set, and imagine how the place would look in different kinds of light. When you arrive in a place you've never visited before, spend time scouting-driving or hiking to different locations, finding different vantage points. Time is the most important investment you can make in getting good landscape pictures. Lenses and sensors or film cannot do this by themselves. ![]() Our field of vision encompasses a great deal of the scene, but our eyes and brains have the ability to ignore all except the most alluring details. ![]() When we look at a landscape, our eyes travel over it and selectively focus on the elements that we find appealing. All the elements that enthralled you at the time are there, but not the feeling. You get home, look at the pictures, and find them flat and boring. We've all had the experience: Driving through a beautiful landscape, you stop at every scenic overlook to make photographs sure to capture the grandeur of what you see. ![]()
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