Mojave Desert Diary...

Do You Want To Take Better Photographs While On The Trail?

By Sand N Sky

Have you ever gotten home from an off-road trip, only to be disappointed with the photos that you took?  They may have looked good in your camera’s LCD screen, but upon viewing them on your home computer, the photos just don’t hold up.  Perhaps you didn’t capture the rich colors that prompted you to take the photographs in first place.  Or, perhaps, the images are slightly out of focus, too dark, too light, or some combination thereof.

Here are some suggestions that should help.

1.       Use a tripod.  You might have the steadiest hands in the world, but the truth is that it is impossible to completely eliminate movement when hand-holding your camera.  Generally, landscape photos require the use of slower shutter speeds (which are automatically selected by many “point and shoot” cameras), and many out- of- focus photos are the result of inadvertent movement of the camera when the shutter is triggered.

2.       If using a tripod, use a remote shutter release cord.  Pressing your camera’s shutter-release button with your finger can cause slight camera movement, even when the camera is on a tripod. 

If you don’t have a remote shutter release cord, set your camera’s self-timer (most modern cameras have this feature) to trip the shutter.  That snow-covered mountain is unlikely to move in the few seconds that it will elapse before the timer triggers the shutter.  The goal is to eliminate physical contact between you and the camera’s shutter-release button.    

3.       Timing is everything.  It is best to shoot your landscape photos in the early morning, an hour or so after sunrise, or in the late afternoon, roughly an hour before sunset.   During those times, the sun is lower in the sky, which makes the lighting softer and the colors richer.  High noon is probably the worst time to shoot landscape photos, because the sun is high in the sky.  Consequently, the lighting tends to be harsh, and colors get washed out. 

4.       If your camera’s shutter speed and aperture controls can be set manually, learn how to do this.  When you activate the shutter-release mechanism (either by pressing the button, using a remote shutter release cord, or by using the self-timer), the shutter opens for a specific time (usually in fractions of a second) and then closes.  The longer it stays open, the longer the film or digital sensors are exposed to the light coming through the aperture.  The length of time that the shutter remains open before closing again is known as “shutter speed”.    On many cameras, shutter speed can be selected manually.  The longer the shutter remains open, the more care will be necessary in order to avoid camera movement. 

The aperture the opening in the camera’s lens that controls the amount of light reaching the image recording medium (film or digital sensors).  The wider the aperture is open, the more light will be allowed in.  Accordingly, a wider aperture requires a faster shutter speed in order to avoid over-exposing the image (IE: making it “too bright”).  Conversely, a smaller aperture opening will require more time for the light to be gathered.  Therefore, a slower shutter speed (IE: a longer exposure) is needed with a smaller aperture opening.  On a camera whose aperture can be set manually, the aperture setting s are known as “f-stops”.  F-stops are typically expressed in the form of numbers which can be found on the camera lens and in many cases, on the camera’s LCD screen.  These numbers might range from F4.5 to F22.  Here’s where it gets confusing.  The smaller the number, the wider the aperture.  So, F4.5 is a much wider opening than F22. 

Why does any of this matter?  Because sharpness is almost everything when it comes to landscape photos.  And, the smaller the aperture (IE: the larger the “f” number), the greater the distance at which things will stay in focus.  This concept is known as “depth of field”. This is why most serious landscape photographers use very small aperture openings- they want the folds and creases on that distant mountain to remain in focus.  For example, I typically set my aperture at f.16 or smaller (IE:  a larger “f” number) for landscape work. 

How do you know how to match the shutter speed to the f-stop?   If you camera has an “Aperture Priority” setting, you can simply set the aperture, and the camera’s built-in metering system will automatically select the correct shutter speed.  Remember; a smaller aperture setting (IE: a higher “f” number) will result in the camera selecting slower shutter speed, which will make

If your camera’s aperture and shutter speed can be set manually (on some film cameras, this is the only option), there should be an indicator of some sort – usually in the viewfinder, that will tell you if your photo will be over- exposed (too bright), under-exposed (too dark), or if it will be properly exposed.  Setting the aperture and then changing the shutter speed (or vice-versa) until the indicator tells you that the image should be properly exposed is the simplest method of determining the proper exposure.

A fully automatic camera doesn’t give you as many options.  However, the odds are high that such a camera will have a “Landscape” setting, or something similar-which will automatically give you an aperture –shutter speed combination that will yield reasonable depth of field. 

5.        Stay focused!  If your camera is not equipped with an automatic focusing (IE: “auto-focus”) system, don’t forget to focus your camera manually. 

6.       Maintain your composure!   No, I’m not telling you to remain calm while taking your photos- although calmness helps!  Rather, I’m suggesting that you take the time to compose your photographs carefully.  In other words, pay attention to what’s actually going to wind up in the frame.  Did you want that trash can in the corner of the photo? Is the front of someone’s Jeep protruding into the frame? Take an extra couple of seconds to really see what is in your viewfinder.  If you want that trash can in the photo, that’s fine.  But don’t allow anything that’s unwanted to wind up in your photograph.

I hope that these suggestions help; naturally, this article is not meant to be a comprehensive photography course or “how-to” book.  If anyone has any questions, feel free to send me an e-mail message.

See you all on the trail!