Page 16 - Cape-Camera-August-2022

August 2022 Cape Camera

Photographic Technique

The difference between the top landscape photographers

and everyone else

Author: Manuel Becker

One question that I often thought about when I first started out I once heard a very inspiring talk from one of my most favorite
was: Why do other landscape photographers always have these photographers Elia Locardi, who talked about how often he is
amazing sunsets with a burning sky, the clouds are going crazy coming back to one place until he captured the scene in a way
and there is a huge thunder storm coming from the left with he was thinking of it. That speech definitely made a dent for me,
stunning flashes everywhere? because during this time I was totally focused on how I could
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating right now, but that’s how I often improve by doing better postwork or how to take a better pho-
feel while looking at all these amazing images on platforms like to. My 'How can I get better photos?' suddenly changed into
this one or on 500px. 'When can I get better photos?'.
After talking to so many photographers, the answer seems pret- Although you need a little bit of luck for sure to get the very best
ty simple: Other photographers aren’t more lucky than you or results, there are nonetheless factors beside these unchangea-
me, they just manage to be at the right spot at the right time. ble things that you can and should consider while planing your
They are even a few hours earlier in order to compose the best next photography trip.
possible shot, because you won’t have the time to focus on this Important factors
amazing sunset while running around to find the perfect posi- Season
tion. And these photographers come back - sometimes every
day for weeks - until they got these breathtaking clouds they Some places are most beautiful during spring... others just ap-
were waiting for. peal on snowy winter days. That’s nothing new, but it's still an
To be honest I never thought about this... going back to 1 spot important factor for landscape photographers.
for so many times just seemed odd to me, because usually I just
tried to get the best result out of the photos I took. If the sunset
was decent and the result was good, I was fine with that and
you are maybe too, but the top landscape photographers are
not.

Jubelpark, Brussels - This photo is a good example for an amaz-
ing spot with boring weather conditions that result in a decent but
definitely not in a top shot.
You made the shot and went to this beautiful spot to take a pic-
ture of an amazing skyline... but the sky is just boring. Well, that
sucks, but that’s also a part of landscape photography. You work
under very unstable and mostly unchangeable conditions. The
only thing you can do is to get the best possible shot while
you're there, and come back when the conditions are better.
Otherwise it's like leaving your painting unfinished, because
there are parts that just don’t add anything to your final com- Bluebell forest Hallerbos near Brussels
position.

15 Cape Town Photographic Society