Mountain landscapes

Skies and water

Make the most of the wide blue yonder

ountainous landscapes are invariably dotted

with bodies of water, and apicturesque lake
can be a great asset for your scene as long as you
know how to capture a complimentary composition,
make the most of the light, the right time of day to
shoot, and the best length of exposure for the water.
Although we often remind you to use the rule of
thirds to place the horizon at the top or bottom third
of the frame, sometimes positioning it in squarely in

the middle, as in our example shot, can work well as

the amount of sky and its reflection in the water can
lead the eye to the central mountain ranges. We also
composed so the V-shape of the two mountains lead
the eye into the valley and the mountain behind
thats beautifully lit by the low and late afternoon
sunlight. The clouds shrouding the mountaintops
add a touch of serenity to the scene and illustrate
that the peaks create their own microclimate.

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

Exposure: 1/3 sec at f/16; ISO50

Black & white!

A

nsel Adams is famous for his dramatic mountain

scenes, particularly of Yosemite, California, and
originally shot on black-and-white film, with plenty of
punch added in the darkroom. You can replicate
Ansels stunning landscape shots with a black-andwhite conversation in Photoshop CS/CC/Elements.
Using a mountain landscape shot with bright blue
sky, select the Infrared preset in the Convert to
Black and White command; then tweak the Reds,
Blues and Yellows to achieve Adams trademark
dark, moody skies and high-contrast scenes.

34 | PhotoPlus October 2014

Skies and water

ND grad filters for skies

W

here there are big mountains, there are big skies. But
because of the difference in brightness between the
two, youre likely to be left with well-exposed land mass yet
with an overly bright, colourless and detail-free sky. The
easiest solution is to use a graduated neutral density filter
(ND Grad), which is clear at the bottom and semi-opaque at
the top to produce a balanced exposure. For our shot we used
a 2-stop ND grad (take exposure readings from the land and
sky and calculate the difference), which has given us a blue
sky packed full of cloud detail. Alternatively, take two identical
Raw shots, exposing one for the land and one for the sky, then
simply combine them in Photoshop, using layers and layer
masks to reveal the correct exposures for each.

Silky waters
B

2-STOP ND GRAD

NO ND GRAD

TOO EARLY & 1/10 SEC

lurring motion in mountain lakes

can make great photogenic
shots, especially with a static focal
point in the foreground for water to
swim around, such as a jetty. Using
a very long exposure of 2-3 minutes
turns ripples into a serene, silky
smooth surface. To achieve this, you
need a combination of low light and a strong 10-stop ND filter to
severely restrict the light entering your lens, drastically dropping
the shutter speed. So shoot just after the sun has disappeared
behind the peaks remember that sundown will be earlier in the
mountains. (More on filters in PhotoPlus Workshop, page 72).

LAST LIGHT & 153 SECS

PhotoPlus October 2014 | 35