so how do photographers do it?
Of course it isn't easy. Anyone can take a picture - but it takes more than just the snap of a digital camera or an iPhone to paint a picture with a photograph - only then is it truly art. But the technical stuff isn't the most important part of photography. Sure, a good quality camera and tripod are on the plus side for photographers - but even for professionals like Peter Lik, the heart and the eyes are the most important tools in photography. As Gerald Woods, cowriter of the book called Creative Techniques in Landscape Photography puts it, "The photographer whose attention is concentrated chiefly on the technical aspects of his work is in danger of missing the whole point...If the picture does not communicate, it is useless, no matter how much technical virtuosity it demonstrates."
The technical basics of a photographic composition are simple, yet extremely important. One principal often referred to in photography is called "the rule of thirds." This element is used by placing the subject matter NOT directly in the center of the photograph. For some, this is difficult as many people want what's important to be front and center. Yet the rule of thirds breaks a field of view in a camera up into sections so that the balance of the picture is off-centered, creating more interest and a more thought provoking piece. Subject matter, on the other hand, is the first step to a good photo.
Knowing what the main focus of the photo is will set the photographer with a good base and enable them to combine other principals to make the photo more eye-catching.
So what about cameras? Since Peter Lik is a landscape photographer, here are some of the cameras known for involvement in landscape photography:
1. The 35 mm SLR
2. The 5 x 4 lens
3. Panorama camera
As we know, Peter Lik was inspired greatly by the Panoramic Camera. This camera has a motor driven lens that revolves in a horizontal plane an exposes a strip of film. The mirrors in the lens are held in an arc so that the distance and angle between the lens and any part of the emulsion remains the same. This creates a long negative photo with a wide angle of view, which is your basic "landscape" setting. It captures a panoramic scene without distortion often caused by lenses with short focal lengths.
More techniques: the techniques used in photography are endless. Peter Lik uses bright color, black and white effect, colored lenses, exposure variation, depth of field control, and many others to produce an effective photo. Here are some of the techniques often used in photography:
1. Controlling the image. Professional photographers are very good at organizing and emphasizing what goes into a picture. They're the puppet masters - they can take stuff out, add more things, emphasize one structure in size or clarity, and so on.
2. Depth of field. Focusing in and out of points in a photo by adjusting the aperture and shutter speed of the camera adds more or less clarity to certain aspects of a photo.
3. Choice of lens. You can magnify and enlarge photos by using a bigger or smaller lens and zooming in or out.
4. Camera movements. There are two main types of camera movements that can add life-like effects to a photo to make it seem like it's moving while still stopped in time. One is called a shift, the other a swing. A shift is when you shift the lens panels in the camera. A swing is when you swivel the lens panels to distort an image.
5. Exposure. Photographers can change the intensity of the light in a photo. Light is extremely important in a good photograph.
6. Filters. Changing to different colored filters while shooting or printing a photo can change the colors in a photo. For example, black and white filters can make a photo look older and more antique-like.
7. Refraction and reflection. These elements are used very frequently, especially in the presence of water and windows, and add great flare to a photo.
Three elements of nature make up the primary foundation of landscape photography: the sky, rocks and weathered surfaces, and trees. These three basic things are used most frequently in landscape photography and are very simple yet have so many aspects. Patterns, colors, shapes, rhythms and texture of these elements are key. Along with these falls the category of architecture. Architecture is used in landscape photography such as that of an old rustic barn to add vintage feelings or the colors and patterns in bricks of a historic building.
However, if we go back to the very base of a good photo, the photographer is the foremost important tool. In order for a picture to have emotion and communicate a story of its own that is memorable, one must feel the photo and see photography in his everyday life. If you learn to look at life in the viewpoint of a camera lens, everything becomes beautiful; everything becomes picture-worthy. Terri Morgan, writer of the book Photography: Take Your Best Shot, describes it like this: "Learning to see how the camera sees is the most important lesson you can master..." Behind every great photograph is a passionate photographer who sees the world as a work of art.
The technical basics of a photographic composition are simple, yet extremely important. One principal often referred to in photography is called "the rule of thirds." This element is used by placing the subject matter NOT directly in the center of the photograph. For some, this is difficult as many people want what's important to be front and center. Yet the rule of thirds breaks a field of view in a camera up into sections so that the balance of the picture is off-centered, creating more interest and a more thought provoking piece. Subject matter, on the other hand, is the first step to a good photo.
Knowing what the main focus of the photo is will set the photographer with a good base and enable them to combine other principals to make the photo more eye-catching.
So what about cameras? Since Peter Lik is a landscape photographer, here are some of the cameras known for involvement in landscape photography:
1. The 35 mm SLR
2. The 5 x 4 lens
3. Panorama camera
As we know, Peter Lik was inspired greatly by the Panoramic Camera. This camera has a motor driven lens that revolves in a horizontal plane an exposes a strip of film. The mirrors in the lens are held in an arc so that the distance and angle between the lens and any part of the emulsion remains the same. This creates a long negative photo with a wide angle of view, which is your basic "landscape" setting. It captures a panoramic scene without distortion often caused by lenses with short focal lengths.
More techniques: the techniques used in photography are endless. Peter Lik uses bright color, black and white effect, colored lenses, exposure variation, depth of field control, and many others to produce an effective photo. Here are some of the techniques often used in photography:
1. Controlling the image. Professional photographers are very good at organizing and emphasizing what goes into a picture. They're the puppet masters - they can take stuff out, add more things, emphasize one structure in size or clarity, and so on.
2. Depth of field. Focusing in and out of points in a photo by adjusting the aperture and shutter speed of the camera adds more or less clarity to certain aspects of a photo.
3. Choice of lens. You can magnify and enlarge photos by using a bigger or smaller lens and zooming in or out.
4. Camera movements. There are two main types of camera movements that can add life-like effects to a photo to make it seem like it's moving while still stopped in time. One is called a shift, the other a swing. A shift is when you shift the lens panels in the camera. A swing is when you swivel the lens panels to distort an image.
5. Exposure. Photographers can change the intensity of the light in a photo. Light is extremely important in a good photograph.
6. Filters. Changing to different colored filters while shooting or printing a photo can change the colors in a photo. For example, black and white filters can make a photo look older and more antique-like.
7. Refraction and reflection. These elements are used very frequently, especially in the presence of water and windows, and add great flare to a photo.
Three elements of nature make up the primary foundation of landscape photography: the sky, rocks and weathered surfaces, and trees. These three basic things are used most frequently in landscape photography and are very simple yet have so many aspects. Patterns, colors, shapes, rhythms and texture of these elements are key. Along with these falls the category of architecture. Architecture is used in landscape photography such as that of an old rustic barn to add vintage feelings or the colors and patterns in bricks of a historic building.
However, if we go back to the very base of a good photo, the photographer is the foremost important tool. In order for a picture to have emotion and communicate a story of its own that is memorable, one must feel the photo and see photography in his everyday life. If you learn to look at life in the viewpoint of a camera lens, everything becomes beautiful; everything becomes picture-worthy. Terri Morgan, writer of the book Photography: Take Your Best Shot, describes it like this: "Learning to see how the camera sees is the most important lesson you can master..." Behind every great photograph is a passionate photographer who sees the world as a work of art.