landscape

We can all appreciate the beloved Ansel Adams. He was one of the greats. His story is inspiring, fascinating and enduring. The man worked as a custodian in Yosemite National Park in order to live in the beauty he so much appreciated and desired to record. He seemed a harmonious blend of romantic artist and master technician. He devoted his life to the pursuit of what he loved. As a darkroom junkie myself, the first time I saw an Ansel print in person, printed by his own hands, I admit that a tear, (yes, a tear) fell down my face. The sheer craftsmanship of his prints was surprisingly moving. I am not here to dispute the fact that Ansel Adams was one of America’s greatest and seminal landscape photographers. I am here, however, to challenge you to find another one. After Ansel, who is your favorite photographer?

Eliot Dudik is a documentary, fine art, and landscape photographer who has made PDN's 30 for 2012. His project, 'Road Ends in Water,' documents communities that live along the waterside in South Carolina. The project ended with the creation and publishing of a book of the photos.

Eliot spoke to us recently about what it's like to be included in the PDN 30, and about the project.

Every experienced photographer knows and fears lens flare. Most often, we associate it with those horribly distracting 'stars' of light we see through our viewfinder and in our images when shooting into the sun. But not everyone knows that lens flare doesn't only affect those shots—it is part of every image we capture. So knowing how to reduce its effect is a valuable tool in many shooting situations.

Jim Goldstein is a full-time professional photographer based in San Francisco, CA. He captures landscapes and nature, and is an established travel photographer. He also embraces social media, and is highly active on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Google + amongst others, such as Photo.net. We took some time to talk to Jim about his techniques, social media strategies, how landscapes inspire him, and his new eBook.

I was traveling six hundred feet down and a thousand years back, more or less. The trail from the rim of Canyon de Chelly to the White House Ruin begins with a series of steep switchbacks. On one side, there's a wall of rock. On the other side, if you're clumsy, there's a fall that's long enough to kill you. I watched my step.

A few weeks back, I was exploring a rock formation near the Little Colorado River. I found a number of petroglyphs. It occurred to me that almost all the petroglyphs and ruins I've encountered in the Southwest were near rivers or streams. The ancient desert people had compelling practical reasons for living near water. I suspect, though, that they also enjoyed simply looking at it.

I love to include water in my photographs. Judging by what I see on photography forums, I'm not alone. Water can significantly improve a photographic composition.  It's worth considering why.

High-dynamic range imaging (HDR) is the fastest growing and perhaps the trendiest new technique in photography. By combining several images with different exposures the photographer can capture scenes which are beyond the dynamic range of their camera. The trick is that HDR scenes not only can't be captured in a single image, they also can't be fully displayed or printed in their native form. That means additional processing is required to turn the photo into one which can be used.