If you get to know me, you’d realize that when travelling it sometimes takes me twice as long as a normal person(non-photographer) to arrive at my destination.  Why is that?

Because I can’t help myself from pulling over onto the side of the road(multiple times) to take a photograph of the scenery….  I know it sounds crazy but if you’ve got an
eye and a passion for landscape photography you might’ve started wondering if there is any way to stop yourself from ’seeing these photos’.  Because it’s not as simple as
jumping out of your car and snapping the shot and continueing on your drive.  You have to put a little bit of thought and time into your composition.

I almost want to say that spotting the perfect landscape photo is the easy part about all of this.  The art of landscape photography is to capture the scene so that it creates
the same stirring in other people that it created in you.  Recreating that feeling of awe for each and every person who looks at it.

So let’s talk about equipment.  You don’t necessarily need a wide angle lens (focal length of 15-20mm) to photograph landscapes, I don’t have one either.  That doesn’t mean
I dont want one with all my heart….   You can always create great images with simple equipment.    A closed down aperture like f22 to keep everytihng in sharp focus isn’t always a must either.

Let’s
say you’re photographing somewhere in Namakwaland for instance.  The fields of flowers are just so amazing and you feel completely overwhelmed, but instead of taking a snapshot
from a standing position with a closed down aperture like every other person, rather bend down a bit, focus on one particular flower(with a wide open aperture) and have the rest
of the flowers out of focus but still in the shot.

Great landscape photos are created when you put that little bit of extra time into examining your subject and background.  Even a photo with scenery needs a subject.  Be it a
person, a tree, some water or animal.  There needs to be that little something to pull your eye.

In terms of composition:
Look for things like roads or fences that can be used to lead the eye through the shot.  Have a look around for textures on trees.  The rule of thirds in photography:  If you
were your to divide your viewfinder into 9 squares, kind of like when you play noughts and crosses when you were a kid, with two lines across and two lines down.

Your strongest areas would be on the top right cross and bottom left cross.  When your taking a landscape photo try to have your horizon lie in either the top line or the bottom
line, not in the middle.  This makes for a stronger composition and more attractive photo.  Always remember to try different angles, climb into a tree, lie flat on your stomach
(yes even if it is wet) or stand on a rock.  Photography is really about expressing yourself and following your instincts.  You can also incorporate movement into your shot.
Let’s say your photographing a  golden field of barley, instead of just taking the shot from a great angle,  try putting it onto the tripod and making the exposure time a bit
longer so that you can get the movement of the clouds or the subtle movement of the barley in the light breeze…..   It might be a little bit more difficult as the lighting
outside continually changes, but it’s well worth trying.

There is so many “professionals” out there who keeps telling you what equipment you must have and what your exact aperture setting must be, but in the end you are the artist and
the creative power lies in you.  So when taking a a photo of a landscape or anything for that matter, if you are doing something that goes against everything you’ve been taught

but it just feels so right, then do it,  You might just be thrilled with the result.  Learn the rules so that you can break them properly.  That is the birth of all new
techniques.

Always try to use the sun to your advantage, whether your photographing in mid day to bring out texture on the bark of a tree, or when the sun is low and making long shadows.  Even photograph through some grass towards the sun to catch it as a glowing pink ball…

All you need to do now, is go out and try it!!