How to capture iconic landscapes
Words and Photography Lisa Michele Burns | OM SYSTEM Ambassador
How to capture iconic landscapes
Words and Photography Lisa Michele Burns | OM SYSTEM Ambassador
Imagine for a second the postcard stand of a souvenir store; one filled with cards featuring classic shots of beautiful destinations and iconic landscapes photographed in ideal conditions.
There are blue skies, bright colours and easily identifiable sights and subjects conveniently printed and waiting to be sent to loved ones to say, ‘I’ve been there, seen that’.
It’s time to think beyond the postcard shot and sprinkle a little creativity and exploration into the mix.
Capturing the same photo of a scene that’s been photographed millions of times over isn’t really challenging yourself as a photographer. Instead, by incorporating the essence of a place, its culture, and the conditions that shape it, you’re creating – with purpose and consideration – two ingredients that will result in a shot that goes beyond the postcard stand.
Plus, landscape photography should be paired with one heck of an adventure, and what’s the point of a great shot if you don’t have a great story to go with it?
Here’s 5 tips on capturing iconic landscapes.
1. CHOOSING YOUR VANTAGE POINT
If you’re visiting a popular and iconic landscape like Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Uluru, or Niagara Falls, it’s likely you’ll find set routes, paths and viewpoints. Being restricted to a set viewpoint doesn’t mean you have to walk up, click straight ahead and tick that off your list.
Instead, consider how you can shift your perspective, mentally and physically, you want to move around (within reason) and think outside the box at the same time. Look for natural elements like trees, rocks, or even the play of light and shadow to add depth to your composition.
For example, when photographing the Grand Canyon, you might focus on a single weathered tree silhouetted against the expansive backdrop, offering a more intimate and powerful portrayal of this vast landscape.
With distant canyons illuminated by the sun before a storm, the tree created an interesting subject to frame the scene.
A classic image captured from a viewpoint many tour groups are taken to within Monument Valley.
This image was shot through a twisted old tree root, creating a unique composition of an iconic landscape.
Explore your surroundings before setting up your shot. Often, the best compositions are found when you step away from the most obvious vantage points, even if it’s just walking further down the path, or stopping along the route to shoot through trees or use the environment to frame your subject.
Use the landscape’s natural contours to lead the viewer’s eye through the image, creating a dynamic visual journey. This approach not only makes your photograph more engaging but also reveals a personal interpretation of a familiar scene.
"Often, the best compositions are found when you step away from the most obvious vantage points."
Uluru bathed in afternoon light from the Sunset Viewing Area.
Uluru at dusk with a creative reflection technique used to emphasise the colours.
If at Uluru, I’d opt to venture further afield and drive to the Kata Tjuta Dunes Viewing Area. From this spot, you’re able to incorporate the surrounding desert plains, the expansive sky and witness the magic of sunset over Uluru crowd-free. Not only does the landscape feel alive in all directions, birdsong echoing from the trees and shrubs adds to the experience.
2. EMBRACING THE BEAUTY OF THE OFF-SEASON
Photographing landscapes in their off-season means embracing the unexpected.
While peak season tends to provide a weather window of clear skies, ideal conditions and dreaded crowds, shoulder season or the off-season reveals a quieter, more intimate environment to work with.
Iceland is a destination that sees photographers flock to capture its iconic waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes and the Northern Lights. Photo opportunities vary greatly depending on the season, and while you may wish to embrace the crowds of peak season for safer road conditions and more predictability, the winter months here offer a world of adventure, and a sky full of green magic.
Where icebergs glisten on the shores after being washed out to sea from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.
Captured in the shoulder season of autumn when conditions still allow for plenty of water-based photography.
Let’s assume you’re visiting Iceland to photograph the South Coast from Seljalandsfoss to Jokulsarlon Lagoon. It’s most popular in summer when you can shoot long exposures of the waterfalls, take boat tours, kayak, hike or simply spend more time photographing the golden, shimmering ice under the midnight sun.
A winter wonderland at Skogafoss with icy roads leading to frozen puddles.
Photographing long exposures when water is flowing past icebergs is possible at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.
"Here in Iceland, the off-season reveals a quieter, more intimate environment to work with."
Inside an ice cave at Vatnajokull Glacier.
In winter however, this landscape turns into a wonderland of all things icy. The mesmerising ice caves can be shot, Northern Lights (might) be dancing, and the mood can change rapidly on the shores of the lagoon, from sweeping fog, to snow, sunshine, and pastel skies. Shifting conditions equals a library of diverse imagery to take home.
GEAR TIPS
- Venturing into the off-season elements requires a camera with weatherproofing to ensure you’re able to get creative, without worrying about rain, wind, snow, hail, dust or whatever comes your way.
- OM SYSTEM offers industry leading weather sealing across several of its camera models and lenses, or there’s also the compact TG-7 tough camera which you can take in water or icy conditions to film and photograph.
3. REIMAGINING CLASSIC POSTCARD COMPOSITIONS
Let’s explore how you can reimagine composition in your shots, playing with factors like framing, depth, and perspective.
Taking the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Japan as our subject, the iconic shot typically features the towering bamboo stalks creating a natural tunnel, with soft light filtering through and the empty pathway leading through the centre. In reality though, the path is rarely empty, and you’ll find it quite difficult to capture a shot without people unless you’re shooting in the middle of the night, or very, very early hours of the morning – even sunrise isn’t crowd free anymore.
The iconic shot of Arashiyama’s Bamboo Grove without people is only possible to capture in the wee early hours of the morning.
Masking the crowds later in the morning by using the surrounding foliage and fence within the composition.
Peering through the bamboo stalks rather than along the path can reveal a number of photographic opportunities that most visitors miss!
"Tilt your camera upward, play with the patterned bamboo, or focus on a small detail that others might overlook."
Shifting your focus from the straight-on view everyone is queuing to capture will allow you to explore the natural wonder in its purest form, without the inclusion of the human element, instead peering into the forest and photographing the patterns, shadows and lush landscape.
Tilt your camera upward, play with the patterned bamboo, or focus on a small detail that others might overlook. Even when standing in the same spot that everyone else is capturing the classic postcard image, you can move slightly to the left to incorporate the fencing into your image, helping to block the crowded pathway and form a more interesting composition that doesn’t immediately give away where the location is.
You can be surrounded by hundreds of tourists but if you tilt your camera upwards to capture a different angle they disappear.
LENS TIPS
- Having a collection of lenses up your sleeve (or in your camera bag if that’s where you prefer to carry them), provides more options to experiment with your composition.
- A wide-angle lens can exaggerate the vastness of a landscape, while a telephoto lens can isolate a distant leaf or subject, creating an abstract representation of the scene.
- With the bamboo grove, a versatile lens like the OM SYSTEM 12-100mm f4, or the 40-150mm f2.8 pro lens enables multiple focal lengths to zoom between the stalks, test out creative composition ideas, and to also stay wide enough to capture the canopy above.
4. SEEKING AN AERIAL PERSPECTIVE
The world from above is pretty bloody special. It’s such a foreign view for us ground dwellers and the reason why we pull out our phones whenever we’ve got a window seat when flying. How many photos of clouds or the scene below is enough? My phone library says the limit does not exist.
Aerial photography offers a perspective that’s both grand and intimate, revealing patterns, textures, and a scale that’s invisible from the ground. When photographing an iconic landscape, you can opt for scenic aerial flights, do the groundwork and climb to a higher vantage point, float in a hot air balloon, or grab a drone (and the required permits), to access an entirely new angle.
A sunrise hot air balloon experience enabled a closer look at the dunes of Namibia from above.
From the same hot air balloon looking along a dry riverbed at the patterns and desert tones.
Inside Dead Vlei, where dunes tower around a vast open space of cracked clay and photogenic tree trunks.
"Aerial photography offers a perspective that’s both grand and intimate."
The dunes of Namibia offer a striking setting that most landscape photographers could spend weeks capturing.
From the ground, the dunes layer into the distance, with the most popular location to photograph being Dead Vlei, where dead camel thorn trees are scattered across a white clay pan. Here you can capture the contrasting hues and deep shadows as surrounding dunes act as light keepers during early morning and afternoon hours.
From above you’re working with more of a flat canvas so elements like cracks, sand patterns and shadows are best to include in your composition. An aerial perspective in this case helps to highlight the extensive dune systems, tonal variations and shadows. Photographing the lines, shapes, and colours of the landscape below, reveals more about the environment, where rivers perhaps ran after intense rains, footprints where wildlife wandered, and offers a visible peek at the direction of how these dunes twist and turn across the desert.
DRONE TIPS
- Most iconic landscapes and well-known locations will require a permit of some kind before you’re able to launch your drone, especially if it’s located within a national park or wilderness reserve.
- It can be highly likely that drone permits aren’t offered in areas of natural significance, where wildlife or birds are known to nest, or when it’s close to a flight path.
- Check apps like OpenSky in addition to local park or government websites for the permit options or rules for your chosen landscape location.
5. COMPOSE WITH CULTURE IN MIND
In some locations, a landscape is deeply intertwined with the lives and cultures of the people who inhabit it. By delving into local traditions, practices, and the relationship between people and their environment, you can bring a richer narrative to your photographs.
In Patagonia, the rugged peaks of Torres del Paine National Park have been documented from all angles across every season. Their natural beauty draws in photographers that love when the sky lights up and illuminates the shallow lakes and snowy peaks, or just as favoured, when cloud-filled valleys create moody and mysterious vibes.
The peaks of Torres del Paine reflecting in the waters of Laguna Azul.
When photographing the mountain scenery or hiking the trails, you may cross paths with the baqueanos, traditional Chilean cowboys. Integral to the region’s culture, baqueanos guide travelers through the challenging terrain with their deep knowledge of the land and with the horses, support refuges with supplies.
The alpine landscape is pretty, but having the baqueano and horse in the frame adds interest.
Using shadows to showcase the trail and incline on the path towards Mirador Base de Las Torres.
Jorge preparing a yerba mate as he shared stories of his culture and lifestyle.
"The baqueanos – traditional Chilean cowboys – are integral to the region’s culture and have a deep knowledge of the land."
Photographing the horses in the presence of the baqueanos allowed insights into their behaviour and quirks.
Inside the Las Torres Reserve at the base of the iconic Mirador Base de Las Torres hiking trail, you’ll find up to 200 horses that roam free from sunset to sunrise.
To photograph the horses and baqueanos, consider capturing moments where they interact with the landscape, crossing rivers, leading horses up steep trails, or pausing to survey the vast scenery. These images not only showcase the dramatic backdrop of the Torres del Paine but also tell the story of the human relationship with this wild, untamed environment.
CULTURAL INSIGHT
I spent two hours with the baqueanos at Las Torres Reserve, learning about their clothing, history and horses, sharing a yerba mate and sopaipilla before heading out to photograph the landscapes.
This experience added so much to my understanding of the environment I was capturing, and while the iconic shot of Torres del Paine still had to be captured, it made the moment the horses wandered by on the trail all the more meaningful.
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