Improving my photography

If you want to get better at anything then you cant beat learning on the job & gaining experience over time spent in the field. Photography is no different & I think it has served me well with my portfolio improving year on year. If I come across a issue or problem I will try to solve it myself while out photographing, failing that I will then search online at night for some solutions & apply it in the field the next day. Other then that my main focus is doing what I love, exploring nature with camera in hand. Over the last few years though as my hobby as turned into a bit of a obsession ive been often wondering how my photography has improved over time & more importantly how can I continue to improve.

Now 2023 I think would be one of my best years simply going on the number of photos I took that have gone on my portfolio (ill be the first to admit I need to be more strict on the photos that make the cut but I am getting better) with a few being in my opinion my best results yet, largely due to the fact that i did a lot of travelling that year to some incredible places. So im still taking photos that im really happy with but are little habits/preferences holding me back in some situations. I love the creativity photography allows you but have I relied more so on the scene/conditions of late & let my creativeness take a back seat.

So I thought id share my goals/ideas that I came up with that I think will help me continue to improve & evolve my photography. And I have to say it has already begun to help in the last year or two.

Landscapes = Wide angle lenses

When I first started out one of my purchases was a 70-300mm lens as I read it could be good for some landscape scenarios like photographing distant mountains etc. But really for me it was wide angle lens for pretty much every scenario & would rarely even consider the longer lens. Going back over my images I struggled to find more then two landscape photos with it. Theres obviously nothing wrong with this, I love wide angle shots of landscapes. But the fact that it would mostly not even enter my thoughts to consider a longer lens there are some situations that im missing out on. Not only potentially good photos but photos that are a bit different to my usual wide angle landscape photos to something a bit more intimate. Add to that enjoying the creativity of focusing on smaller details in the landscape it has to be a win win. So I have made it my mission when out in the field to not only consider the longer lens more but to learn how to & when to use it with landscape photography. So far most of my landscape photos have still been taken with my 21mm wide angle lens (my only wide angle lens is a Zeiss milvus 21mm) which I knew wouldn’t change but I have been taking many more with the longer lens recently & some im really happy with that wouldn’t be possible with the wide lens.

Reflections – Frankland River, Western Australia. Canon 5DS + Canon 70-300mm @ 93mm, ISO 100, 0.6 Sec, F/13

Mount Trio - Stirling Range NP, Western Australia. Canon 5DS + Canon 70-300mm @ 70mm, ISO 100, 1/13 Sec, F/13

Getting lazy with scouting

A must for a landscape photographer, you have to know where to set up your camera when conditions are good & it’s something I still spend a lot of time at particularly when im in a area that’s new to me. On longer walks/hikes i always have all my camera gear & I do just as much exploring as I did when I first started out so no big issues there. One thing I have found myself doing differently though is when I do find a good scene im spending less time on working out the best composition by taking different shots with the camera on the tripod. I have started getting into the habit of once finding a spot Ill quickly work out if its worth re-visiting in better light by looking at live view on the camera or taking a few quick photos hand held. But wont work out the best composition then & leave it till I return for the better light. When I return I usually leave plenty of time so I can set up & work out the best composition before the good light starts. But plans don’t always work out & a few times lately ive found myself a bit late & has been a bit of a scramble to find the best composition while the light & conditions were still good. Ive also found myself sometimes at a spot waiting till the light starts to come good till I even get my camera out then try to work out the best composition. The same thing again when I don’t think the conditions will be any good so I don’t set up, then suddenly it does & it’s a scramble again. Or worse yet decide to leave early then having to run back because suddenly its turned good. For the most part this hasn’t become a big problem yet but is something I think I need to be a bit better at before it does.

The three images below are from a stunning beach in Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia. I found it while out exploring & without taking any photos I knew instantly that I had to return here in better light. With mostly clear skies I didn’t return for sunset but the next morning was much better. I arrived well before sunrise & as it became a bit lighter I decided on this composition below which I ended up staying at till around sunrise. I quite like this composition although the bit of sand im not crazy about & would prefer some of those rocks closer/more prominent in the foreground.

Take one

Take two - I finally moved my composition around sunrise to this which I think is better, luckily for me the light was still ok.

Take three - This one was taken on the same day at sunset & while the light wasn’t anything special I really like the composition. I wish I had worked all this out when i first visited this spot

Sunny isn’t always bad

I love overcast conditions, when im out in the garden, at work or even just swimming at the beach it doesn’t matter.  And that certainly goes for when I have a camera in my hand as well. Sure you need some sun to produce some great light but ill take a overcast day with no sun over a clear sunny day most of the time. That’s not to say I don’t take any photos on clear days, I actually have quite a few from over the years & some from my last trip. But apart from when im in central Australia (Sometimes its hard to get any cloud no matter how long you stay) I don’t go out with a clear plan on what would make a good shot on a sunny day, its more become about sheer luck. Take the photo below for a example from my last big trip, it was pure luck I chose this walk over another one for this particular sunny morning. Taking photos wasn’t really on my mind that day as there was some cloudy/stormy weather on the forecast for the rest of my stay & I may of left my camera bag at the campground for my walk if I wasn’t using the pockets in the bag to put the rubbish in that I picked up along the beach (So sad to see the devastating impact we humans have & continue to have on the environment). Im so glad I did too because I love this image, it shows off so well the stunning beaches that Esperance is famous for. But it could have so easily gone unshot. Hopefully I can start to think more about taking advantage of sunny conditions then just waiting it out for the stormy weather.

Cape Le Grande National Park, Western Australia

Squarer crops

Occasionally ill get a suggestion that one or two of my photos would look better with more of a square crop then a more traditional aspect ratio like 16:9. Its something ive never been able to do to any of my pics, it just doesn’t look right to me for a landscape photo. Even when I can see with a few of my photos that there is some space on both or one side doing nothing for the image & it makes sense to do a square crop, I still just left them as a landscape ratio. A while back I read a article where they interviewed some landscape photographers that purely shot square landscape images. I was intrigued by the thought of this & fascinated with there thinking/processes around it & there results were impressive. They all said the same thing, its not something many people do & can work really well with a different mindset when out photographing. At this stage its not something ill necessarily go out of my way at doing but from now on hopefully I wont be put off by squarer compositions if the opportunity presents itself. With a few of my older landscape images I have cropped more square & while they still look a bit funny to me they are improved by it. None more so then the one below

Autumn Reflections – Armidale, NSW

Original crop