You’ve looked at the weather map, you know well what you can photograph to get a masterpiece, and then everything is different, and you don’t know what to photograph? That’s great, because it’s the best starting point for becoming a better photographer.
In my latest video on landscape photography at a stream, I have some shots I like. Some of them are even worth printing on fine art paper, but I have to say the start date wasn’t great at all. I was hiking to a giant waterfall at the end of a canyon in the Austrian Alps, but my ambitions were interrupted at the beginning at the canyon’s entrance, because the trail was locked. What now? Getting back in the car, driving home, enjoying a warm cup of tea and dreaming of photography? I decided on something different.
The power of attention
With years of being a landscape photographer, I’ve learned that whenever I’m walking around nature, paying attention to everything that attracts me is key to discovering compositional opportunities. Although I was busy doing vlogs and shooting b-rolls for my videos, I was attracted by the features of a small stream beside the trail. The almost black water makes a great contrast to the snowy shore. The shoreline, as well as some of the rocks inside the water, appear with beautiful patterns. Although I didn’t know what work I would find down there in the end, I decided to get closer just to see and breathe in all its beauty.
Leaving Your Comfort Zone
It’s pretty easy to do something exactly the way you feel comfortable. It’s not that I’ve never photographed a stream in winter, but I like to prepare before entering a location. This doesn’t mean I already know all of my compositions, but preparing and planning gives me at least a chance to think about my options. Then I’m more positionally efficient and in my experience that leads to better results.
The big waterfall was my comfort zone that day. I simply wasn’t prepared for shooting something different. Since that waterfall was no longer an option, and I didn’t have a plan B, I left my comfort zone when I reached the stream.
Believe in yourself
Like a small stream, it looks amazing in all its shapes. I knew nothing about composition, though I did do something I learned from my grandfather, a landscape painter and art professor: I put aside all expectations and simply believed in myself. Dear. And so, with no expectation of getting a masterpiece, I started framing some intimate landscape scenes, like the warm-up scenes – and even getting rewarded. Not only that, most of the intimate scenes are awesome, so I ended up printing them out. As I followed the stream, I came to a small waterfall, and although I was still unprepared, I did not feel any discomfort. Shooting in snowy areas is always difficult, as going around and trying different angles will destroy your foreground, but if you’re comfortable, you’ll eventually find the right composition.
So whenever you get stuck in landscape photography: believe in yourself, and you’ll be rewarded. The full adventure with all the photos and more landscape photography tips is revealed in the video linked above.
