For me, travelling Australia was an adventure to tackle the more remote regions, far from bitumen, and an attempt to capture Australia’s rich landscape through my love of photography.

 

Living in Melbourne, Australia, I realised Victorian’s were blesses with a contrast of environments – snow-capped mountains, temperate rainforests, spectacular coastline, waterfalls and landmarks like the Twelve Apostles. I guess I was eager to see what the rest of Australia had to offer.

With no real itinerary in mind, I journeyed for twelve months from Melbourne, up the east coast to Cape York, along the Gulf of Carpentaria to Arnhem Land, through the Kimberleys and along the length of the West Australia coastline right around to my hometown of Esperance.   From the southern coast I ventured inland to Yulara, back to Cape York and through the Simpson Desert before finally pointing the four-wheel drive back towards Melbourne.

In terms of equipment, I was perhaps a little excessive at the start: a fully equipped Land Cruiser, camper trailer, dinghy and camping gear. But my most cherished purchase was a Fuji GX617 panoramic camera. This camera captures an image 6x17cm, which means I can enlarge without losing quality. I consider it my first child, with whom I have a beautiful and intimate relationship. Mind you, I’ve given it a hard time! I also took my Nikon F4 for ‘grab’ shots along the way.

I purchased the Fuji GX617 only two days before departing and so had little experience with it before setting out. It wasn’t until travelling and shooting for five months that I actually sent 75 rolls of film for processing. Other than a few teething problems with my exposures, I realised you can’t go wrong as a landscape photographer when you’re travelling through a world of subjects. Encouraged by my results, I hit the road again and eventually shot another 110 rolls of film.

Along my journey, I came to the conclusion that being self-taught can be an advantage. Of course, there are many rules and technical decisions to be considered in the creation of an image. I guess I’d already found through trial and error what I liked and disliked in a picture, so often I choose to ignore what is said to be sound.

The best advice I can pass on is to break the habit of shooting the subject. Allow me to explain.

Composing a better symphony

I recently had a friend ask me to teach him the art of landscape photography, so I took him for a day to the Otway Ranges along the Great Ocean Road in western Victoria. Together we hiked through the rainforest and along a stream for an hour until eventually we arrived at a waterfall.

My friend asked how to capture the water like silk over the rocks. I explained the techniques involved and having understood them, he grabbed his tripod and framed his shot. I asked if I could have a look at how he was going to shoot the falls. Not meaning to offend, but in his excitement I think he had forgotten to be creative. He had composed the image with the water centrally placed with rocks either side – nothing else. There was no perspective, no atmosphere and no emotional investment. It didn’t take much to convince him to step back, envision the scene as we had observed when we arrived, and recompose. His new framing captured the bottom of the falls but also the water meandering through mossy rock and tree ferns, granting the image another dimension with strong foreground interest. When he showed me the results a few days later, it was this shot that was his favourite.

So, learn to retain the viewer’s attention as long as possible, keeping them focused on the picture. When I’m at a location, my senses are in overdrive. I can smell the rainforest, hear the thunder of the water, feel the turbulence and begin to taste the end result. However, it’s important to remind yourself that whoever looks at the photograph will be doing only that – looking. Their experience is silent and two-dimensional. Therefore my goal is to somehow create an image that stimulates the viewer in its own right.

Tips on the land

I love to include strong foreground interest wherever possible and thus capture the viewer’s attention immediately. Find a point of interest and you might notice that it’s beside a flowing stream. The eye follows the stream up river to the back of the image, past tree ferns and giant trunks to the final resting place, the waterfall, creating an emotional environment and a dynamic experience for the viewer. To make this technique succeed I often use an aperture of f22 (high number, smaller aperture hole, less light being let into the camera) to ensure maximum field of depth. This ensures everything from the foreground to the background remains in focus.

Another recommendation is the use of leading lines throughout the frame. For instance, flowing streams produce a path or line that can be used to lead the viewer’s eye to the subject, in this case the waterfall. I find myself using this technique repeatedly with landscapes in particular. If possible try to have the lines lead left to right. We are familiar with reading left to right and are more comfortable when images are designed this way.

I always use a tripod where possible as they allow sharper images and longer exposures, helping to create interesting and unusual perspectives. Even if you don’t have a tripod, there are alternatives. Too often I see people approach a beautiful location, stand, point and shoot. Hey! Shop around. Lay on your stomach. Get down low or, like I do, jump up on top of the boat or roof of the car and wave as passers-by stare at you with confusion! What you look like doesn’t matter. Steadiness does. The results will astonish you.

When arriving at well-photographed attractions, I realise that every photograph I’ve seen of this particular location is similar – often because there’s only one vantage point on offer to shoot it from. Faced with this, my objective is clear – get creative. Find another perspective. It takes time but often what you come up with is impressive.

As I mentioned, I believe that being able to detach yourself from the influences of traditional technical rules is a step in the right direction. However there are a few guidelines I’ve picked up along the way. For me, creating a stimulating image starts with the film. I use Fuji Velvia, rated at 50 ISO. This is a transparency film with incredible colour saturation and ideal for capturing landscapes such as those found in Australia. It’s very fine-grained, giving me the sharpness I need. Sometimes I feel as if I could step into my images, such is their detail.

Elements of an image

Through photography, I’ve discovered the role that water plays in our psyche. I use it everywhere – the snow on a mountain cap, dew hanging from a fern, the reflections of a silky waterfall, the curve of a wave, icebergs, mist and underwater (something I’m yet to fully discover). I’ve used water to bend light for a surreal feeling. Most importantly, my outback experience taught me that water means life in an image. 

However, without doubt the most important element is light. No light, no picture. The greatest challenge of landscape photography is waiting for the right light. I rely solely on the environment around me and never use artificial light. Learning how to predict light motivates me and has made me more aware of my surroundings. When I’m travelling, not only am I constantly scouting for that once-in-a-lifetime composition, I’m also trying to imagine the best light to photograph it in. This has taught me the greatest lesson of all – patience.

I’ve found the best light is often before 9am and after 3pm. The landscape becomes warmer, shadows become longer, contrasts are fewer and colours richer. I prefer to arrive at a location well before sunrise. A surreal glow can radiate from a subject prior to the sun reaching the horizon. The same effect can occur at twilight. After others have packed up and gone home I’ll often be seen shooting on for yet another hour.

You can even use clouds to filter light. For rainforest photography I prefer a high overcast day to diffuse the light, reducing the contrast and allowing my film to record details more accurately.

Predicting the nature of light has proven to be the most challenging part of my photography and it’s certainly why I love landscapes.

Over the year travelling around Australia, I learnt a lot. I removed myself from my comfort zones and as a result have faced challenges I’d never considered in the city. I’ve met larger than life characters who are now friends, allowed my mind to travel with little influence and – because I carried a camera – became more involved in the environment around me.

As a permanent member of TheTravelrag.com team and house photography expert, Dan Paris will be writing regular articles on travel photography and photography reviews. If you have any photography queries, email Dan care of editor@thetravelrag.com.