On each trip, we find places so unique and surprising that we want to immortalize them forever. However, sometimes due to the adjusted itinerary or simply, due to lack of technique, we cannot take the perfect photograph. Today we are going to give you some tips so that you don’t miss that moment.
We may forget a garment, shampoo, a charger … but never, a photographic device. Whether it is a mobile phone or a reflex, on all our trips we carry a camera to capture the most beautiful landscapes. Even so, although it may seem easy to take a photo of a landscape or nature in which everything is calm, achieving the perfect photograph is more complex than it seems:
White Balance: In any photography course, the first thing they will teach you is how to do a white balance. First of all, have the white balance well done but also, if you want to photograph a landscape or nature and you have the opportunity, try doing a manual and even creative white balance.
Lens: there are many possibilities but for a landscape photo, we recommend that you use a wide angle. The landscape can be immense so we will need the largest possible framing. For this, we will need lenses with a small focal length, for example between 16mm and 24mm.
Diaphragm: in other types of photographs we may be interested in playing with the approaches, but in the case of nature, we will generally want to have the landscape in focus uniformly. Therefore, we will need a small diaphragm aperture that can be f / 8, f / 11, or f / 16.
Tripod: using a diaphragm with a small aperture tends to capture less light. To counteract this, it will be necessary to use a somewhat slow aperture speed which can cause the photo to be blurred. Thus, having a tripod seems essential to achieve the perfect photograph.
ISO: It is best to always use the lowest possible value or the native ISO when using a tripod. This will ensure that the photograph looks much better.
Point of prominence: even if we want to collect the entire landscape, we must set a point of prominence to take the photograph. This will allow us to make a better distribution of the elements in the plane.
Hours: a landscape may be incredible at 5:00 p.m. but then, at dawn, it will be simply unique. The best photographs sometimes need patience and find the exact moment in which that place is immortalized; in photography and in our routine.
Expressions: although when we imagine nature, we see it calmly … it is constantly showing expressions: dare to capture them; beauty is in those contrasts, in those “dark clouds”, in that running animal …
Perspective: many times, it all depends on the perspective from which we are observing something. And this is applicable to both real life and photography, therefore, you have to be willing to change it: to look with different eyes.
Best place to take nature photography
Now is the time to put it into practice: depending on the type of trip you take, it may not be possible to spend the necessary time to immortalize these moments. For this reason, if you are a lover of nature and photography, we recommend that you take a trip exclusively oriented to photographing nature. There will be those who think that then, you are stopping visiting interesting places in the country.
But this is not the case: on a photographic trip, you observe nature with different eyes, from a different perspective that allows you to enjoy it in depth.
There are corners on the planet that are well worth a photographic trip because of the possibilities they offer. Juan Carlos Muñoz is an experienced nature photographer who has selected some of these destinations and has prepared trips aimed exclusively at putting knowledge about photography into practice:
China: specifically Yunnan with its Rice Terraces and the Wavy Red Lands and colorful crops of Dongchuan, formations of the Shilin Rock Forest, and of course, the Historical Cultural Heritage of Lijiang and Xizhou.
Mongolia: where it is possible to photograph the traditional festival of Mongolian culture, Naadam. Also, the spectacular landscapes of the Gobi Desert and the richest deposits in the world of Dinosaur fossils: Kharakorum. Lake Ugil and Khustal National Park.
Indonesia: in this part of the world we will try to take pictures of nature in motion in search of volcanoes, orangutans, and the Komodo dragon.
Mexico: here the gray whale lives and there is authentic wildlife in Baja California waiting for some good photographs.
Madagascar, Bolivia, Finland, Utah in the USA, and China are other destinations to which Juan Carlos Muñoz travels accompanied by photography lovers to immortalize the vagaries of nature and its magic. Prepare your goal and join the adventure.