For photographers, as for painters, landscape holds a lasting appeal. No other subject is so accessible; what we see can be photographed today or tomorrow, in natural light and usually without special equipment. Moreover, the subject seems almost inexhaustible, ranging from the tranquil beauty of fertile woodlands to the stark grandeur of open mountains and deserts.
Yet good landscape photographs are rare. Partly because there are no obvious technical problems, the tendency is to assume that our strong impressions of the scenery will translate themselves onto film effortlessly. The skill of taking landscape pictures lies in understanding how a scene will work photographically instead of just being overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. To compress the sheer scope of a landscape into one image, you need to isolate the visual qualities that will re-create the panoramic view you see or suggest its depth and distance. This explains some simple techniques that can help you to convey scope, capture natural drama and reveal patterns and textures in ways that will give fresh, original expression to the classic landscape themes.
