Landscape Techniques

         My second blog for the week was on an article called "Special Techniques for Landscape" by Rob Sheppard.  The article was excerpts from Sheppard's new book, The Magic of Digital Landscape Photography.  The article started out by discussing the techniques that we all learn at the beginning. These were things such as; Composition, exposure, depth of field, etc.  It stated how these are the common tools used but there are other ways of capturing a great photo.
          The first technique discussed by Sheppard was black and white.  He talks about the fact that black and white has a way of grasping an image in a very open minded way.  You have to forget all you know about color and capture the bare essence of the image.  It also is a great way to capture depth in a photo and contrast between light and dark objects.  The main thing he points out is just how useful it is at creating a different view than you would normal get.  It really does give you a different view and puts an artistic touch in your technique of capturing an image.
          The second technique Sheppard discussed for landscape photography is High-Dynamic Range Photography aka "HDR."  HDR allows you to combine multiple exposure pictures into one to create the most dynamic tone in a photo.  A tone that you would not necessarily be able to capture with a single shot.  This technique is used in the photography world and is a common technique by the famous photographer Ansel Adams.
          Lastly Sheppard talked about the technique of using infrared.  Infrared allows for you to photograph in the light we typically would not even consider.  It is a way to increase the drama in a photo and get colors and traits to pop in an image and a great technique for that midday sun.  Overall Sheppard had great traits and really allowed for some alternatives to the everyday technique many of us use.