Thoughts on Landscape Photography
Part I, I talked about picking locations and the effects of the time of day and weather, along with the importance of repetition because of changing conditions, and ended by describing ways to use light to compose a photograph. Here I delve into some discussions on equipment necessary to use with whatever camera you have to obtain the best image, and ways to deal with dynamic light. I will end with some post processing ideas that I use when editing my digital image to match what I envisioned while I was on location. First, I’ll repeat the list that this two-part series covered.
1. Location, time & weather
2. Repetition, repetition, repetition
3. Light - direction & subject
4. Equipment - setup & grab bag
5. Post-processing
Taking photographs at the coast where the dynamic range of the light often exceeds the range of the camera sensor is a challenge. Different cameras have different sensors with different dynamic range capabilities. Regardless of your camera sensor, you can use additional equipment to tame the dynamic range problem. The focus on equipment and post processing becomes the second part of working with the light and my Thoughts on Landscape Photography.
EQUIPMENT No matter which Leica camera you may be using, there are some methods of carrying gear that help when taking landscape photographs. I typically carry my equipment on site with a Billingham photographer’s vest as I love the plethora of large zippered pockets. When traveling to multiple locations each day, I have traveled with a photographer’s backpack that had additional storage for clothing and other personal items. There are so many choices here, I will leave that to YouTube reviews and blog articles.
Other than carrying gear, there is also some generic equipment that will help you achieve better landscape photographs. Clearly, weather resistance is good thing when it comes to outdoor photographic work. A tripod is a must in my opinion, and filters are one of the best ways to extend useful light and dynamic range. Post-processing using computer software helps further deal with dynamic ranges and produces images that take full advantage of the detail captured with Leica glass.
WEATHER RESISTANCE Sometimes the weather is foggy or cold and damp, but sometimes the weather is much worse. I’m not just talking about rain, but also dust, sand and wind. The most weather sealed Leica body is the Leica X-U. That particular camera can be soaked in mud and washed off with a hose. However, some additional Leica bodies are very weather resistant even though they cannot be placed under water. I have used the Leica SL, SL2 and S007 which all have spectacular weather sealing. I have used each of these in the rain and temperatures approaching freezing. The Q2 has similar weather protection as the SL2. I have lightly washed off my Leica SL2 and S007 after getting winded sand on them and once spilling coffee on my SL2. ThevLeica M10 has some weather resistance, but not as much as the S, SL and Q and I would NOT advise getting it soaked.
The SL and S lenses are also well put together for use in bad weather with rubber seals at the lens mount. There are a few lenses that are not internal focusing with slightly less protection from the elements, but many are internal-focusing and effectively keep out the weather. While my experience with the weather sealing has been fantastic, I am only providing my results and not a warranty! As such, I would suggest that you follow the instructions with your specific camera. They key is to know the limits of your gear and use it to take great photographs.
David Farkas, a good friend and owner of the Leica Store Miami, has told me multiple times he does not put UV filters over the front of his Leica S lenses because they are well coated and can handle the weather. In truth, the glass on his Leica S lenses is in great shape and I have watched him use them in crazy weather! I spend a considerable time at the coast, so I use the UV filters to avoid scratches from the mix of wind and sand, but I do not use filters in forest locations. It is a matter of preference, but he and I both use our gear out in the elements.
Recently, I put my Leica S007 to another weather test. Hurricane Elsa came up from the Caribbean and as it went through Florida downgraded to a tropical storm. As it went further inland, the winds died down to 40-55 miles per hour, but the rain on the east side of the storm was still pretty strong.
The morning after Elsa passed by the South Carolina coast, I went out to take some photographs. The wind was still strong at 25 miles per hour and sand was whipping up past my ankles. The sea was still quite rough and churning sea foam everywhere. Foam and sand were flying in the wind as I set up my tripod. I actually left the strap around my neck even though it was mounted to a series 3 Gitzo tripod. Very carefully, I mounted some filters on the front of the S series lens and one hand pulling down on the tripod leg, I set my exposure to 1 second and pressed the shutter.
I named my favorite image of this series “Elsa the Snow Queen” as the weather was still trying to prevent me from working. I very lightly ran water over the camera and lens system and set everything on the table to dry. It took using an old toothbrush on the lens grips to get everything off and after drying I brushed any loose sand out of the button and knob cracks and crevices, but everything is back to normal. The best part about these Leica systems is that they can be used hard, as long as they are cared for afterwards. As much as I love my M system, I would not have tested it on the beach that morning!
While weather resistant is helpful, a tripod is a must for landscape photography. When I am taking street photographs or documenting people or an event, I am using low to mid-apertures and frequently an ISO higher than base ISO. In fact, when I use black and white film on vacation, I frequently use Kodak Tri-X or Ilford Delta 400 both of which are higher speed films. However, landscape photography will often times have very high dynamic ranges and the lower the ISO the more range of light can be captured. This has been true in the film world and the digital world alike since the beginning of time. With lower ISO’s also come slower shutter speeds for any given aperture. Since landscape photography typically deals with large depths of field, the shutter speed is even slower. Hand holding a camera at shutter speeds less than two times a focal length is very difficult and even with optical imaging stabilizer systems (OIS) the sharpest image will most likely be obtained with the use of a tripod.
Let’s talk a little about final print size to show the importance of using a sturdy tripod and then we’ll look at ways to create the ultimate stability for long exposure times. Why talk about a print size? Because showing images in social media or simple digital means can easily hide poor techniques or flaws in focusing and stability. Consider an Instagram post that uses 2,080 dots on the long edge of a landscape oriented digital image. The first full-frame digital Leica camera was the Leica M9 with 5,212 pixels on the long side of the sensor. This means an Instagram post loses more than 1/2 of the pixels in the original DNG file. If an image is slightly blurred because of movement during a slow shutter speed, then taking away every other pixel and sharpening the image file can hide those flaws. What happens if instead we print the image from the M9 on paper?
If we decide that 300 dots per inch (dpi) provides a crisp looking print on paper, then the size of the image would be 5,212 pixels divided by 300 dpi, or about 17.4 inches. The Leica M9 sensor is 3,472 pixels on the short side, which translates to 11.6 inches at 300 dpi. Thus, using the entire sensor for a print would by 11.6 inches x 17.4 inches, or about 12” x 18” which fits well on 13” x 19” paper leaving a 1/2 inch border all around the edges. Remember that this is for the first full-frame Leica digital camera. Consider the Leica SL2 which is more recent and has a sensor size of 8,243 x 5,615. The short size of the Leica SL2 sensor contains more pixels than the long side of the Leica M9 sensor! This 47 megapixel sensor can produce a print at 300 dpi of 27.5 inches by 18.7 inches or almost 19” x 28”. Imagine how a print that large would look if the image was not perfectly in focus. Not only do flaws in focus and stability show up, but so do sensor dust spots or dust spots poorly removed in post processing.
This brings us back to tripods. While there are many types of tripods available and they come in different sizes and weights, the goal is to get the most sturdy tripod you can carry and that your budget can afford. There is nothing worse than spending a few hours photographing something that cannot be repeated only to find every image is blurry. You get what you pay for with tripods, and it is just not worth skimping.
Tripods list the weight that they can hold and in my experience, using near that maximum weight can be problematic. Think about climbing a 30 foot extension ladder. If the maximum weight the ladder can hold is your weight, how do you think the ladder will hold up if its not perfectly level and the wind is blowing just a little bit? It will probably flex side to side and twist, moving around as you climb or try to work at the top. My safety is worth more than that! Tripods are similar and can flex when the maximum weight is used on them.
My Leica S007 and a Leica S 35mm weigh about 5 lbs (2.3kg) with batteries, filters and a bracket to attach to my tripod head. I use a Series 3 Gitzo carbon fiber Systematic tripod that weighs 4.5 lbs (2kg) and is rated to hold 55 lbs (25kg). Because I am frequently in the sand, I use 3 inch metal spikes on the bottom rather than rubber feet, but the tripod is sturdy and does not move, even if I lean on it a little bit. I use the Gitzo series three center ball head which adds another 1.7 lbs (0.7kg) and is only rated for 39.7 lbs (18kg). The lower limit of the ball head reduces the maximum weight to be used on the entire tripod setup. A frequent question I get is why not use a traveler tripod? I also have a Series 1 Gitzo traveler tripod with 5 sections because it is light-weight (2.3 lbs) and is short enough to fit in a suitcase (14 inches folded). However, the maximum weight it can hold is 22 pounds (10kg) and fully extended it will flex with 5 pounds of photography gear and a ball head mounted on top. I use this tripod with a digital Leica M or my Leica M3 with black and white film.
I frequently use my tripod with the wind blowing or the ocean swirling at my feet, but using a really sturdy tripod, almost all my images come out crisp and sharp. I proved that again after Hurricane Elsa using 1.5 second exposures. With the higher resolution camera sensors, the images are a joy to look at on the screen and especially in large sized prints. My advice here is to get a tripod that has a max weight of at least 10 times the weight you might mount on it. Also, be sure that any tripod head you use has a max weight limit of at least 7-8 times your gear weight. This is one place that what might seem like overkill can only help you get better images.
If you still don’t believe me try this test. Take several photographs of a landscape at high f/stops with shutter speeds equal to 1/focal length and one stop slower without using OIS. If you use OIS, then use ½ second and 1 second exposures by hand. Then, take the same photograph but with the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. Compare those at 100% in lightroom and I’ll bet you can see the difference. The tripod photograph will be crisper.
FILTERS Filters will extend the useful light in your landscape photography, regardless of the camera you are using. Sunrise and sunset light is very bright in the sky, and your foreground may be much darker. This is especially true with broken cloudy days. Furthermore, including the sun in your photograph will drastically increase the dynamic range of the scene. Reflections off of waterfalls, lakes or snow and rocks have the same effect. If that light in the sky or water can be reduced without reducing the light in the rest of the image, the dynamic range can be reduced as well. This helps you capture the full range of the light in the camera at the time you take the image. We’ll talk about a few different kinds of filters and how they affect an image.
POLARIZERS A polarizer is used to take scattered daylight and remove all light that doesn’t go in the same direction towards you. This is a fancy way of saying polarizers typically remove reflections on glass or water surfaces and darken some areas of the sky. This isn’t a scientific explanation, but sums up the results. Personally, when photographing the ocean, I prefer the reflections and do not use a polarizer, or use it to lower the overall light content, but not to polarize the light. Polarizers can have very odd effects in very wide angle lenses, so I would not recommend them in 21mm and wider applications. In addition, wide filter edges can sometime cause unnatural vignetting with some lenses. However, using them on 35mm lenses and higher focal lengths can typically work well. These filters are frequently screw-on filters that must be sized to your lens. Furthermore, they come in a standard and high-transmission format. The high-transmission polarizer lets in much more light, and does not affect the exposure very much while still providing the polarizing effect. Another side effect of polarizers is a potential increase in color saturation.
NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTERS Neutral density filters are filters that block incoming light evenly across the lens. For example, a 3-stop neutral density filter would produce exactly the same photograph as one taken without the filter, but with a shutter speed that is 3-stops slower. Clearly, if there is motion in the photograph, the slower shutter speed causes more blur in the movement. Neutral density filters come in ranges from 1-stop to more than 10-stops and all variants in between. They also come in screw-on filter sizes as well as in square glass formats for filter systems, like the Breakthrough filter system or the Lee filter system. We’ll take a look at those in a moment. The key to neutral density filters is that the entire image is the same, but with a longer exposure. The dynamic range of the image has not changed. The highlights are reduced in the same amount as the shadows. Note that very high neutral density filters can sometimes let infrared light pass through which can cause a magenta cast in your images. If this is happening to you, take a look at neutral density filters that also filter IR light.
GRADUATED FILTERS My favorite and most used filters are graduated filters. These filters have neutral density properties on the top and the fade out to clear towards the bottom. This means part of the photograph has light blocked and part of the photograph has no light blocked. These filters most commonly come in a rectangular shape so that they can be moved up and down to place the line where the graduation changes anywhere in the photograph. Graduated filters come with a sharp line between neutral density and clear, and with a gradual fade from neutral density to clear. They can be used right side up, upside down or at any angle, depending on where the light needs reduced in the image. For example, I use them on the coast to reduce the light of the sky making it more similar to the light in the water and sand. Without this filter, the sky may have blown out highlights to expose the sand properly, or the shadow areas in the sand may lose all detail if the sky is properly exposed. While you can perform some tasks in post-processing, you are relying on the quality of the sensor and a perfect exposure in-camera helps prevent losing details or creating unnecessary noise in the image.
These are the basic filters and there is considerable literature available about all the different kinds and the way that they work. I use the Breakthrough Photography filters and the Schneider filters, both square filter systems. I screw on a sized ring to the end of my lens which allows a frame to be connected in front of my lens. This frame has two slots which let me put up to 2 filters in front of the lens. I might use a neutral density filter and a graduated filter to slow down the exposure (blurring the water) and reduce the light from the sky. The process of using more than one filter is called stacking. If you attach a filter to your lens first, you might be able to stack three filters. Sometimes I use a neutral density filter on my lens, and two graduated filers set at different points in front of the lens. The images you see here were all taken with some combination of filter stacking.
POST PROCESSING Post-processing encompasses the editing of a digital image using computer software after the image \ was taken. Many people use Lightroom and Leica long offered Adobe upon purchasing a digital camera. I use Lightroom Classic on my computer to process most of my images
If your landscape images resulted from using a tripod and filters to obtain a crisp image and one with a usable dynamic range, then your post processing time will be significantly reduced. If not, then you may spend significant time fixing light problems and other issues in your images. I have a saved starting point in Lightroom with basic edits linked to each of my camera bodies. When I import my images, this is automatically applied to every image based on the EXIF data of the camera type. Using this setup, I can start with some level of consistent processing and include several specific adjustments. For example, I reduce highlights, increase shadows and whites and reduce the blacks. This lowers the contrast a little further in the highlights providing additional details, and enhances the shadows to see more detail. I also add some texture, clarity and haze removal along with a very little vibrance and saturation.
These edits are just starting points and I almost always adjust them further. I look to provide a bright area of the image to draw someone’s eye through white and shadow adjustments. I also use the detail sliders to enhance the edge details. Another important edit is sharpening. I use the masking process to only sharpen areas and edges that need to be sharpened. I also sometimes add a horizontal graduated mask and lower the sharpening 20-40 points. For example, if I use the masking to sharpen the waves and rocks in the foreground, I may want to be sure no sharpening is applied to the clouds in the sky. To do this, I reduce the sharpening through the use of a horizontal filter over the sky to the horizon.
Post processing is very creative, and each applies edits differently at this stage. Learning how to mask and edit certain parts of an image can be helpful to see what impact you can have on your image. You can answer questions like, how do I draw the viewer to this part of my image? Or, how can I remove some of the vignetting in this image? Answer: adding a white vignette from Lightroom might do the trick!
CONCLUSION I started this article by suggesting the importance of location repetition to fully explore the possibilities in landscape photography. I suggest here again that repetition in the use of filters and post-processing will enhance your work as you begin to fully understand how these tools can help you produce better photographs. Nothing replaces how you see things, but these tools can enhance what you do. Learn how much you can safely capture, and work on stabilizing your system. All of this will take time and cause you to slow down, but one great image can be reward enough!