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On Landscape

On Landscape

Ansel Adams Award Winner William Neill offers instruction and inspiration in On Landscape.


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Resources To Help You Take Better Photos

Our landscape guru’s list of top photo tip books, videos and more

What I enjoy most about being a nature photographer is being in nature. Outside. Fresh air. Beautiful light. Peace and quiet.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Get Past The Snapshot

Don't settle for your first perspective. Keep looking and you’ll keep finding photographs

Down, but not forgotten. Fallen, but still beautiful and at peace. Fallen leaves have an intriguing beauty and symbolism, and they have been an ongoing theme of mine, especially in the fall. There’s something magical about the transition of the seasons in general.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Autumn Light

Keep it clean and simple for the most dramatic photographs

Every season of the year has its special qualities for the landscape photographer. Autumn is no exception. By the end of summer, I already find myself wondering where I’ll go to photograph and how the colors will be this year. Every autumn season is different, and we all hope that this year will be the brightest and most colorful.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Good Luck Happens

Six of my top reasons for photographic success

Over Memorial Day weekend, I was visiting Carmel for a family gathering. I brought my camera along, of course, although I wasn’t planning extended photo sessions. I went out for a few sunrise and sunset photo sessions, visiting some favorite locations in nearby Big Sur, and trying out a new one, Carmel Beach. I’m so pleased with the results; I got to thinking about why I had good luck on this trip. Here are my top six reasons for successful photographs. These reasons assume that the obvious technical concerns such as sharpness, exposure and composition are in good order.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Publishing 2008

New options make it possible for you to make your own photo book

Many photographers dream of seeing their art published in book form. The process of making images, editing them into a cohesive theme that tightly focuses on your special interests and viewpoints, and then realizing it all in book form is an exciting process. I’ve been fortunate enough to have several books published. Now that many of them are out of print, I’m looking for ways to make new books.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Interpretation And Refinement

Pressing the shutter button is only the very beginning

“I can’t verbalize the internal meaning of pictures whatsoever. Some of my friends can at very mystical levels, but I prefer to say that, if I feel something strongly, I would make a photograph that would be the equivalent of what I saw and felt...” —Ansel Adams

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Focus On The Foreground

Look down to add depth and emotion to your images

In landscape photography, the foreground is often an important element in composing a photograph. The use of nearby objects such as flowers, a flowing river or branches of a tree is a common way to lead the viewer back into the scene toward the major geographic landmarks of a place. A field of poppies leads the eye back toward green, rolling hills. A meandering stream wanders across the image frame to reveal golden desert cliffs beyond. One key advantage to using prominent foregrounds is that it gives the viewer a sense of being there, that one could walk right into the scene. On the other hand, if one wishes to create some mystery to a landscape, providing a lot of context and description will leave little to the imagination.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Simplicity

Make the effort to create a meaningful body of work

“What’s really important is to simplify. The work of most photographers would be improved immensely if they could do one thing: get rid of the extraneous. If you strive for simplicity, you are more likely to reach the viewer.”
—William Albert Allard

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Digging Deep

Make the effort to create a meaningful body of work

I can’t stop taking pictures these days. I see images everywhere, and the world is truly a beautiful place. While I live near Yosemite, I needn’t go far beyond my door to be inspired. There’s a wonderful spreading oak tree in my front yard. My backyard is a hillside forest of ponderosa pine, oak and manzanita. Seeking the beauty around me is my ballast, my counterbalance to the craziness out there in the world! The process reaffirms the goodness and beauty that prevails.

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