The Photographer's Notebook

Photography is a journey of learning theory and technique sprinkled with a touch of creativity. A photographer's learning journey has moments of enormous gains and then times when learning is more plateaued. This is certainly to be expected. If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience, you'll want to attend a landscape photography retreat, as this experience is bound to help accelerate your development as a photographer. With the support of a teacher and surrounded by like-minded photographers, all with tips and techniques to share, you are certainly going to learn and be inspired! 

Since registration for Captivated by the Rockies: Larch, which will be held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, during the height of the fall season in September 2021, opens later this week, I thought it'd be fun to share my top five reasons you should attend a landscape photography retreat. 

5. The ability to photograph sunrise through sunset 

One of the unique experiences of a...

Winter infuses hidden magic within a landscape scene. The visual drama of the summer and fall has been hushed under winter's soft blanket of snow. Quiet and stillness unfold before our eyes, and it's captivating in so many ways. The winter months offer incredible frozen beauty and often soft diffuse light. It's truly a spectacular season in which to venture out into your favourite landscapes. Below are a few tips on how you can embrace the winter season and capture its essence in the coming months.  

1. Embrace the weather

I love stunning light and colour, and I know you do too. Photographers crave pretty light that bursts into colour and takes your breath away, but the reality is those days can be few and far between during the winter months. Don't let a snowstorm or lack of colour disappoint you. Showcase other wintery elements, like diffuse light on a mountain peak or winter's artwork at your feet. There's beauty in all types of weather, so don't be afraid to...

Landscape scenes lit under sunset light are often some of the most stunning. This gorgeous light, however, is only available for a few short moments, and then it disappears. Sometimes it can be challenging to capture all the images you'd like during this short time frame; however, there are a few ways in which you can make the images you do photograph count. There are also moments beyond the peak of sunset that should not be ignored. 

1. White Balance

Sunset light is often vibrantly warm at its peak, which usually lasts a few moments and only long enough to capture a couple of exposures. An increase in your white balance in-camera before and after peak colour will help draw out more colour depth within the softer pre and post-peak colours. Don't be afraid to capture your sunset lit frames using a warmer white balance temperature. Dialling in a Kelvin setting like 7690 or 8330 will infuse warm light into your straight out of camera sunset images. 

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There are endless iconic landscape scenes that photographers from all over the world flock to photograph. Sometimes it seems that everyone has the same image at the same location. With the Canadian Rockies as my playground, many of the places I repeatedly visit are iconic and have been captured by talented photographers and vacationers alike. In addition to these iconic locations, I have my favourite landscape scenes that I return to often. Conditions are always changing due to weather, time of year, and light, but I'm still photographing the same scene. There are a few things I can do to infuse creativity into my images when I'm capturing a similar location often or one that has been published many times over. Here are some of my favourite ways in which I can add creativity to famous landscape scenes.

1. Long exposure 

Long exposure is one of my very favourite creative techniques in landscape photography. The human eye is not capable of seeing a...

This week I'm thrilled to feature the talent of landscape, nature and travel photographer Jennifer Carr. Jennifer's images are filled with pretty, airy light and beautiful colour. Her images are inspiring, and I love how she finds beauty everywhere. Today, Jennifer is sharing her expertise with us on how to capture better seascape images.

"Thank you for sharing your knowledge and inspiring us Jennifer!"

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There is no doubt that spending time near the ocean is a relaxing and rewarding experience. Whether you are holding a cup of coffee, watching the sunrise, or sipping your favorite cocktail while the sun sets, the scene is typically a visual feast for the eyes. It’s a moment that you’ll want to sear in your memory bank forever, and there is no better way to do that than through photography. Here are five tips for capturing better seascape images.

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1. Capture Movement

By using shutter speed creatively, you can choose to...

Summer storm season is just around the corner. I enjoy watching nature and her power, so it's always a treat to see a storm brew up and move through, as long as there's no destruction left in that storm's wake. Up here in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, a thunderstorm can pop up without much warning unload her furry and move on in a matter of minutes. I adore the drama in a good storm and have indeed chased my share of thunderstorms up and down the mountain highways. If you, like me, enjoy capturing a good mountain storm, remember these tips next time the weather turns dramatic. 

1. Be Prepared

A landscape photographer knows that she must prepare for all types of weather. Even on a sunny day, I never venture out without adequate supplies tucked into my backpack. My necessities include a waterproof rain cover for my backpack, a rain sleeve for my camera, a medium-sized, highly absorbent towel, an umbrella, mittens and a toque (that's Canadian for a winter hat).

During a...

Sometimes, it can be challenging to photograph landscape images in-between seasons. Melting snow can be dirty, leafless trees aren't always that attractive, and the leftover muck from winter's freeze can be an eyesore. It's your job as a landscape photographer to find and photograph the beauty that is present regardless of the time of year. There are a few ways in which you can hide or minimize unsightly in-between season elements.

1. Compose thoughtfully

Knowing what to include and exclude within a landscape scene is an important skill to have as a landscape photographer. Thoughtfully compose your scene to eliminate elements that are not overly attractive during the shoulder seasons. Ensure that your main subject is highly visible, as this will draw the viewer's eye, minimizing less attractive features within the frame. Pay close attention to the edges and close objects within your frame. Crop out elements that are not as attractive around your frame edges with...

Landscape photography is not for the faint of heart. Us landscape photographers rise before the earliest of birds begin to sing their morning songs. We skip meals and ignore hunger and fatigue. We hike through forests and fields, hoping that the animal tracks in the snow are not fresh or that the howling wolf pack is farther away than they sound or that the bear frequenting the area signs are old news and he's actually up over the other side of the mountain. We haul heavy gear and wear layers of clothing through weather elements most would remain inside for. We wade through streams and hop into rivers to achieve the perfect composition for sunset. We stay up way past reasonable hours to witness night skies and drive home in dense fog and enveloping darkness. But we love every single moment of this passion. 

With all of the efforts we put into getting to a location and with all of the other unknown elements at play like weather and light, us landscape...

Do you haul around your heavy telephoto lens in your photography backpack but rarely take it out? I'm hanging my head in shame because my answer is, "Yes." I'm notorious for rarely taking out my telephoto, and this is something I must change. A resolution, per se, even though we're well into February. As the temperatures begin to warm and we all begin to spend a little more time outdoors exploring all the beauty nature has to offer, I'm sure you're embracing your opportunities for landscape photography. Instead of keeping that telephoto lens tucked inside your backpack, adopt the following reasons for why you should take it out and use it in your landscape images.  

1. Isolate your subject

Telephoto lenses are fantastic for isolating a subject. When zoomed in using a telephoto, you can crop out large areas of detail, which will isolate a single subject. The composition of your image is vital in such a situation, though. Think about how you can draw attention...

It's no secret that I have a profound love for landscape photography. The mountains are apart of who I am today. Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, I have spent many summers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains with my camera in my hand. It's no surprise that as a landscape photographer, my very favourite scenes contain images with the beloved mountain ranges I grew up in, continue to share with my children, and enjoy to this day. 

Viewing the mountains through the eyes of a landscape photographer is a powerful thing, and I've come to recognize that there are a few key ingredients to photographing a landscape with impact. I want to share these tips with you so that you can make the most of your landscape photography opportunities. It may not be mountain scenes that you most often capture, but being aware of these key ingredients will help you photograph more impactful landscape images. 

1. Light 

It's also no secret that I adore light both as a mom...