The Simple Landscape

Simplicity in photography creates images that flow like a soft melody and sometimes simplicity itself becomes the defining elements within a landscape. Landscapes by their very nature can be as complex or simple as nature itself. There are times the scene is filled with an abundance of details all working together to create an amazing view. Yet, there are times when simplicity becomes the defining purpose of the image. Of the two, the simple landscape can often be the most difficult to find and capture.

Creating the Simple Landscape requires one important adjustment; Finding a location where all the clutter is naturally removed. This is not always easy to do and often requires that we employ creative compositional discovery techniques. In most cases it is a matter of seeing, looking beyond the ordinary to focus in on form along with the purest of light.

Light of course is always the main element in every great photograph, but without a great subject, light is simply light. Your job as a photographer is to combine the two into a creative form. For me, to create the Simple Landscape requires warm, low angle light. Late afternoon light when the shadows are long and the nature of the light takes on a natural glowing aura is the best time, but any time of day can be used and under certain circumstances even shooting in the middle of the day works well.

Look for those simple striking compositional elements where only a few pieces are present. Avoid overly complex situations with a lot of competing components. As in all landscapes, all of the components are elements that need to be there and anything that interferes with the story must be removed either by changing the angle, or changing your lens. In other words, focus in what is truly important.

Sunsets tend to be rather complex and just about every kind of sunset that has ever occurred has already been photographed millions of times. However, they are compelling and draw us to them by the nature of their beauty and no two of them are ever the same. One thing I like to do is when facing a sunset regardless of how powerful it might be, I always turn around and look the other direction because sometimes the most compelling images can be discovered that way.

The light from a sunset will often cast a soft warm glow across a landscape, and sometimes you discover a simple composition that diverts your attention away from the main source of the light and onto an element that becomes the photograph of the day. Add a little creative post processing magic and a simple scene becomes an amazing image.

Looking for the Simple Landscape is a challenging opportunity, but one that offers the potential for a striking and unique photograph. Give it a try and retrain your eye to look for the simple elements found in nature.