Section 2 Shooting
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goat was the main subject, however, the image
would be considered an animal or wildlife photo.
Animal photography is covered later in this chapter.
Grand Vistas
Before digital technology made it possible to
review an exposure on the camera’s LCD screen,
many photographers were disappointed when
their landscape photos came back from the film
processor. Their pictures seemed flat and dull, not
at all like the stunning views they remembered
from the scenic overlook.
The problem was most likely the focal length
of the lens used to take the photo. When attempting
to record a large scene, the natural tendency is
to choose a wide angle lens to “get it all in.” The
wide angle captures a broad, distant scene like the
wind-eroded rocks of Bryce Canyon National Park,
but emphasizes the foreground rather than the more
distant formations, Figure 12-2A. The human eye
and brain process the scene differently, minimizing
the bland foreground.
The solution to this wide-angle lens problem
is to include an interesting foreground object that
For most photographers, the term outdoor
photography covers two broad areas—landscapes
and wildlife. For this reason, it also is often
referred to as nature photography, since it deals
with all aspects of the natural world.
Landscape Photography
When you hear the term landscape photography,
what picture comes to mind? You probably visualize
a grand vista, such as a mountain range or a river
with whitewater cascading through masses of rocks,
Figure 12-1. But what about smaller, more intimate
views, such as a single windswept tree clinging to
a cliff face or a pattern of bright-colored lichen on
a boulder? These, too, are examples of landscape
photography, which is defined as recorded views of
the natural world in any of its aspects. While most
landscape views feature the vegetable and mineral
kingdoms (rocks and plants), the animal kingdom
also may be represented as a part of a scene. For
example, a view of peaks in the Swiss Alps that
includes a mountain goat in the middle ground
would be considered a landscape. If the mountain
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Figure 12-1. This impressive expanse of whitewater and rugged rocky outcrops on the Potomac River is only a few
miles upstream from Washington, DC.