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Oct
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The job of a landscape paparazzo is to record a scene. Yet, photographers frequently fail to capture what it felt like to be really at a scene. A good landscape shutter-bug arrives at a scene early, and waits for the scene to develop. Waiting patiently for changing colors and changing mood, which all go with the change of the weather? Critical to all this is light – natural light and all of the elements it brings to a scene. To be in a position to use light properly and creatively we first must grasp it. After we understand it we are able to use it to our advantage in making beautifully, dramatic landscape photographs.
There are basic qualities of light: power, direction and color. Power: pertains to the power of light. If the sun is high in the sky, light can be oppressive and too powerful. Direction: this appertains to light placement. There are classes of light placement: front, back and side-lighting. Color: the color of daylight varies depending on conditions and time of day. If the sun shines at the start or the end of the day, the color of the light will be much hotter, and will lead to a more dramatic scene. While all are dissimilar qualities of light, all of them have another crucial factor in common – time of day.
Selecting the correct time of day is a foremost in capturing a scene at its best. The power of light brings out different colors in a landscape image. Colors in landscape photography rely on light available and also what time you shoot a scene, and where you place your camera. Early morning shots will cast a red hue in your pictures. This only lasts a minute or two after dawn. As the morning advances the red hue turns to yellow. This normally lasts while the sun is low in the sky. Long shadows are cast along a scene during these early hours. This is the ideal time of the day for landscape photographers. As the day turns to evening and the sun continuously falls in the sky, the sun casts stronger colors like morning. Nightfall can be just as much fun as dawn. Using both together will most definitely bring out the best in your landscape pictures. We ourselves decide what direction we use, do we use the sun at our backs, or is it better to use it at our side? I like side-lighting or facing the sun. If you are uncertain go to a scene and take some pictures. Mark the ground so you can place the camera in the very same spot and return a couple of hours later. Return to the scene many times and take notes of light direction. Record the different exposures you take your pictures. Compare the shots from the different times of day, and the answer will unfold in front of you. You will then begin to see the fantastic thing about light and colors in an exciting and new way.