Landscapes

Landscape, compositionally in regards to the layout of a picture, means "wider than taller", as opposed to "portrait", being taller than wider. This is a little cold and clinical when referring to the the subject matter or a landscape, however. From this angle, a landscape can be shot in any format, but the subject of the image must be a literal landscape. The shot must be of a natural environment, such as mountains, a field, trees, the shore of a lake, etc. This leaves much up to the photographer, determining the right angle, the right lighting, whether to use lighting or simply enjoy the natural light provided.

I had a bit of trouble this week with my photos. None of them seemed to come out quite right. The lighting simply didn't work out, or the colors weren't translating properly. Unfortunately, I just didn't get any pictures that I thought were worthy of posting as good examples of landscapes. I did, however, find some great examples in my older photos.

The first one is autumn shot taken across a valley near Hardwick and Greensboro last week. Alone, the valley is nondescript and plain, but with the colors of the trees and the way the clouds had lined up with the sun and the shadows, this picture is one of my favorites taken. I cannot take credit for the shot, however. This one was taken by my wife.



The second shot, while it includes some "man-mades" in the fence and the chairs, captured the beauty of Caspian Lake as seen from the front of our summer house. This shot, taken the same day as the first, also benefited from the autumn colors. The blue of the water and the sky and the darkness of the trees make these colors pop even more. I actually kinda like the fence and the chairs, as they add a certain je ne ç'est quoi to the image. Perhaps it's the depth of frame provided by the fence and the wistfulness of thinking about sitting in those chairs with a hot cup of tea with the crispness of the Autumn air nipping at my cheeks as I look out across the water at the leaves that does it.



The third photo was taken by my step-father a couple of winters ago behind their house. This image, while capturing only a narrow view as opposed to the expansive nature of most landscape images, is a wonderful snapshot of the wonders of winter. Again, there's just something about this photo the seems right and perfect. You'd never know that this was taken only feet away from civilization in the heart of Williston, would you?