INTRODUCTION
I got this book from my friend. We bought it in a 2nd hand book fair in Singapore a few months ago at a shocking price of just $3. The condition is rather bad when we got it, but the fact that the details and materials within the book will never diminished by the appearances.
We have been passing the book around in the photography club, and everyone is benefitting from the content in the book. In fact, a lot of members have better insight to the necessities to make a Landscape Photograph look great.
DESCRIPTION AND CONTENTS
‘John Hedgecoe’s Photographing Landscape’ came in paperback version, slightly larger than a B5 size paper.
It consists of 160 pages and the contents in the books is as follows
01) Photographic Controls
02) Learning to See
03) Composition
04) Natural Factors that Shape the Landscape
05) The Elements of Landscape
There are many pictures of illustrations inside the book that make explanation of techniques used for easier understanding.
BOOK REVIEW
‘John Hedgecoe’s Photographing Landscape’ consists of 5 main chapters, and each chapter will be discussed below.
Chapter 1 - Photographic Controls
Like most other photography related books, the first chapter tried to address the photographic controls that the photographers must take note while making good pictures.
Topics covered in the chapter includes,
01) Exposure
02) Using Exposure Creatively
03) Film Choice
04) Infrared Film
05) Shutter Speed
06) Aperture
07) Filtration
The rare thing of this book is the provision of explanation on the use of infrared film. Although amateur photographers seldom use such film, it remains as an important type of film for landscape photography. For myself, I have never used infrared film, and it really provides me with a lot of useful information on the results I can get with such film.
In every section in this chapter, it explained the effects of different settings very well. With pictures and photos illustration, it is not hard to understand what John is trying to drive at.
Chapter 2 - Learning to See
The most difficult part of photography is acquiring the capability to look at the landscape and immediately visualize how the camera is going to record it onto film. With the amount of controls the camera might have, the results will not be simple one type.
In this chapter, John Hedgecoe tries to teach the concept to see what the camera is going to see.
Topics covered in the chapter includes,
01) Image Plane
02) The Foreground
03) The Middle Distance
04) The Far Distance
05) Viewpoint
06) The Colorful Landscape
07) Restricted Color
08) Color Harmony
09) Monochromatic Color
10) Monochrome Landscape
11) Landscape Abstraction
12) Mixing Genres
13) Making a Statement
The 12th topics Mixing Genres is a very interesting topics discussed in the chapter.
Chapter 3 - Composition
There is no mystique involved in composing landscape photographs, and in fact the most naïve or new photographers will try to compose what he or she see in the viewfinder before snapping a shot. And those born with the most natural creative eyes will have the capability to compose immediately upon looking through the viewfinder.
What I am trying to drive at here is what John Hedgecoe is trying to explain in words in this chapter. There are no set rules of composition; in fact some of these so called ‘Rules’ are actually obtained from centuries of studies of pictures of what appear to please the eyes and what does not. Of course in modern days, there are scientific studies conducted to explore the psychology of vision, which help to set some guides for picture composition.
Topics covered in the chapter includes,
01) Format
02) Positioning the Horizon
03) Divisions and Frames
04) Pattern in Landscape
05) Perspective and Scale
06) Aerial Perspective
07) Overlapping Forms
08) Converging Lines
09) Repeating Shapes
10) Figures and Structures
Please take note that all topic discussed above by John Hedgecoe are only for references. In my opinions, I still believe there are no set rules that can be fully followed and produce a world class photograph.
We must be aware that picture composition is just like art, and you are the painter or artist trying to paint on a film. I am a great fan of the late Ansel Adam, looking through his pictures; you will know he indeed broke some of the set rules and yet produce stunning pictures.
Chapter 4 - Natural Factors that Shape the Landscape
In this chapter, John Hedgecoe tries to look at the natural factors that eventually affect how the landscape pictures will look like in the film.
Topics covered in the chapter includes,
01) The Changing Seasons
02) How Daylight Changes the Landscape
03) The Rising and Setting Sun
04) Rainbows and Lightning
05) Storm Light and Rain
06) Twilight and Night
07) Haze, Mist and Fog
08) Reflection in Water
09) Snowscapes
John Hedgecoe had done a great job to show and illustrate the effects every type of situation discussed. In fact, there are a number of techniques discussed in this chapter to ensure the best is capture on film.
Chapter 5 - The Elements of Landscape
I hope all of you understand what give us the desire to take landscape photographs is the fascinating sights we see in front of us. It can be anything, and most of them are discussed in this chapter.
Topics covered in the chapter includes,
01) Uplands
02) Lowland
03) Forests and Woodland
04) In the Desert
05) The Sea Coast
06) Arable Landscape
07) Paths
08) Settlements and Dwellings
09) Towns and Cities
10) Parks and Gardens
11) Landmarks
12) Signs of Life
13) Industrial Landscape
John Hedgecoe explained a number of techniques when photographing every type of landscape elements. Looking at some of the pictures in this chapter give you an idea how such elements should be taken to ensure the highest of quality.
Glossary
The glossary section contains a lot of explanation on photographic terms, which will give any reader a better understand of what the writer is referring to.
I have gone through some of them and I find the explanation very comprehensive.
SUMMARY
Although I have been in photography for nearly a decade, but every now and then, I tend to learn new stuffs and facts from great photographic writers like John Hedgecoe.
Many people might think taking a landscape photograph is the easiest as compared to fast action sports photography or even candid photography and portrait. I must admit, taking landscape photography is the easiest, and I don’t want to spend much time to debate about it, as the object is static and still, making composition and preparation easy and non-time constraint. But, if you want take a great landscape photographs, it is not as easy as you think. I believe many of you have experience in getting photographs developed that don’t look as great as what you see when you take it. This book will provide you with a lot of Landscape Photography insights to get the ideal pictures you want.
You might not be able to get it right the first time, but with practice, you will definitely improve in quality.
