Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Chris Gatcum, Author of Landscape Photography: Four Seasons Dear Amazon Readers:
Whether it’s hot or cold, wet or dry, or any combination of these (and other climatic conditions), each of the four seasons is unique. This strongly affects landscape photography, as the distinctive nature of a season creates its own issues that need to be addressed. It may be the physical appearance of the land that changes as snow covers the ground or the leaves turn fiery in fall, or the mood conveyed by bright sunshine versus heavy skies, but your approach to photographing the landscape must change also. This could mean that you determine your exposures in a slightly different way, make a fundamental change in what--and when--you photograph, or there may be different requirements in what you put in your camera bag and what you leave out.
With
Landscape Photography: The Four Seasons, my intention was simple: to address each of the seasons as a unique photographic challenge, rather than relegating them to a footnote in landscape photography as a whole. From essential kit to technical considerations, I hope that the outcome is a comprehensive volume that will present novice photographers with the problems--and the solutions--they are likely to encounter when it comes to photographing outdoors, regardless of the time of year.
--Chris Gatcum
Spring: For many photographers, spring marks the ideal opportunity to get out in the landscape. Capturing the essence of a season is all about exploring the changes in the landscape that occur at particular times of the year, but the start of spring is one of the most challenging--and often subdued--seasons for landscape photography. | | Summer: Typified by long, warm days and bright, sunny skies, summer is the season when the weather is kinder to us, and heading outdoors becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. It’s this natural desire to be outside that makes summer the perfect time to get out and about with your camera. | |
Fall: What makes this season special ? It’s a simple question that all landscape photographers should ask themselves, but in fall the answer is relatively straightforward: color. Although every season marks a change in the natural world, fall is perhaps the most visibly obvious, as the lush greens of summer give way to barren winter landscapes in a fanfare of color. | | Winter: Snow. It’s common in some places and perhaps unheard of in others, but regardless of where you live, it is somehow intrinsically embedded in our collective psyche as a sure sign that winter is upon us. If you don’t believe me, simply type “winter” into your internet search engine and take a look at the pictures associated with it--almost all of them will contain a snowy element. | |
Chris Gatcum has lived and breathed photography for over two decades, working as a pro photographer, journalist, specialist magazine and book editor, and best-selling author. A passionate advocate of experimental digital and traditional photography, he is as comfortable conducting technical camera tests as he is demystifying the art of photography for the rest of us.