Join us here on Light Stalking where we celebrate another great week in the world of photography with this hand-curated list of links by Toad Hollow Photography to tutorials, special features, and great photography. This weeks list is chock full of links to some of the best contemporary artists and writers working in the field today, covering a wide range of topics and themes. We really hope you enjoy checking this list out as much as the Toad did himself in bringing it to you.
Guides
Landscape Photography 101 – A brilliant wrap up of everything landscape photography here on Light Stalking. This complete guide gives you a list of everything you need to know about photography in the great outdoors
Tutorials
What You Need to Know About Light for Better Landscape Photography – JasenkaG shares some really important insights about mastering lighting conditions in the field of landscape photography. Superb sample shots are included throughout this article posted right here on Light Stalking to help motivate you to get outdoors and become your own master of this wonderful domain.
10 Tips to Take Your Landscape Photos to the Next Level – this article covers 10 concepts that are really fundamental for great landscape shots. Wonderful sample shots are included throughout the article to show you pictures created with the concepts being shared.
Beginner Photography Tip: Choosing the Best DSLR for You – quite honestly this set of tips can be useful for photographers of any skill level looking to buy a new DSLR camera. This feature article covers quite a few key points to consider before laying down your hard-earned money on a camera you will be using (and hopefully enjoying) for many years to come.
How To Use Hyperfocal Focusing – the topic of hyperfocal focus is one that is often discussed in the realm of photography, with theories and opinions that seem to somewhat vary depending on who you talk to. This is one of the most in-depth articles on this subject I have ever read and is sure to give you a deeper, if not extremely technical, understanding of how to try this out yourself.
10 iPhone Photography Tips To Quickly Improve Your Photos – it is often said that the best camera is the one you have on you. In most cases the ubiquitous answer to this riddle is our trusty cell phone. This terrific article gives you some great insights into how to get the very most out of your smartphone camera, and it includes some truly terrific shots to show you what to expect yourself.
How to Compose Intuitively in Street Photography – this terrific tutorial goes quite in-depth in how to photograph candid street scenes with maximum effect. The article goes over quite a few important concepts when shooting this genre, and includes illustrations to help you visualize the tips being shared along with some great sample images.
Depth of Field Myths – mastering depth-of-focus, or sometimes referred to as depth-of-field, is an important skill to understand for those wishing to have fine control over the pictures they capture and create. This article goes deep into the topic revealing the truth behind some conceptions and sharing some fabulous insights to help you in your own work.
Special Features
Stuart Franklin: Landscape as Metaphor – check out this segment of a book that dives into the concept of black-and-white landscapes as a metaphor. The book being covered in this article takes us on a deep look at how photography can be used as a distinct tool for creating incredible and compelling art that drives the viewer to look beyond the obvious for further meaning.
The Full Story Behind Ansel Adams' Most Iconic Photograph – learn about how one of the most iconic shots of all time came to be, and how it was interpreted during the development phase going from negative to print. This feature includes a short video feature that is sure to inspire everyone to get out and capture compelling shots.
Get a New Perspective on Prague With These Spectacular Drone Photos – both my wife and I are amazed at the pictures you can take with today’s modern drones. This series of absolutely wonderful shots features the age-old city of Prague from a fresh perspective. Take your time going through this short collection, it really is well worth it.
Great Photography
By the bay – Manjik photography takes us to Singapore where one of the world’s most interesting examples of contemporary architecture comes to life in the blue hour. The hotel, surrounding buildings and various features in the surrounding gardens are all lit for a terrific ambiance, leading Manjik photography to capture a stunning shot of the city’s dramatic architectural feature.
The Magnificent Múlafossur Waterfall – every day the Your Shot editors at National Geographic select a shot to showcase on their online blog. This amazing selection features a landscape perspective of an incredible waterfall in Denmark that falls from a huge cliff straight into the ocean below. The long exposure used to capture this photograph smooths out the textures of the waters which blend perfectly with the details of the surrounding landscape.
made by rain – autumn is such a lovely time for photography as the leaves are all vibrantly colored and create a wonderfully colored carpet upon the landscape. Tiger Seo shares a great shot from this time of year that features a framed walkway of beautifully colored trees as a lone person strolls the path.
Vue du Mont-Saint-Michel – Mathias Lucas delivers a stunning shot of an outward view looking over the ocean from a well-known spot. This shot features beautiful colors in the sky along with some deeply contrasted elements that complete the composition perfectly.
Morning Silence in the Alps – as the sun rises over the horizon it splashes light on the sides of the mountains in the distance in this gorgeous landscape rendition from Daniel Fleischhacker. This picture is finished off by a mirror reflection in the foreground that accents several natural rock formations that stand in the waters with trees that create stunning silhouettes against the backdrop.
Chapelle Des Mineurs, Belgium – I find myself constantly amazed at what avid Urbex photographers find and shoot as often the spaces they document are full of shadows of those who once lived and used these places. Obsidian Urbex Photography takes us inside an unused church in Belgium in this short series of images, leaving us all wondering why this once vibrant space is now forgotten.
旋 – a strong feeling of dynamism is captured in this shot from 宫城飞雪 that showcases ribbons of roadways in the foreground with a lit bridge structure in the background. Strong leading lines are created by the roads and bridge as fast moving traffic creates wonderful light trails to add context and motion into the frame.
Somewhere Down South – Michael Criswell shares an infrared rendition of a scene he encountered in the southern United States. In this shot we find a beautiful set of gates that open up to a dappled light covered driveway framed by trees, culminating in a great vanishing point in the distance.
Horseshoe Bend Panorama – the natural riverbed of Page, Arizona creates a stunning composition for landscape photography enthusiasts who take advantage of countless years of erosion from the moving waters against the rocks that create the landscape itself. This wide angle shot from Evan Gearing exhibits the best the region has to offer and is accented by the format selected by Evan.
Fisher Towers – River Road, Moab, Utah – Len Saltiel captures and shares a terrific landscape photograph of an iconic region in Utah that features dramatic vistas punctuated by mountains in the distance. The natural reddish formations in the foreground are very unusual and translate very nicely in the context of a photo.
L'heure Rouge – majestic and rugged mountains stand tall in the backdrop as a layer of snow covers their tips, highlighted delicately by the light that seems to glance off the very topmost portion of the mountains creating dramatic red tips. Vincent Favre’s composition showcases the dramatic beauty of the area by following the rolling hills at the foot of the mountains that lead down into a meadow below, where a pond of water creates compelling reflections.
Baker Street Station – on a visit to England we find that Jim Nix visited an underground train station that is dominated architecturally speaking by the incredible masonry that forms it’s foundation. Jim’s shots highlight the wonderful textures found in weathered brick and stone, highlighted by the natural light that streams in from diffused windows.
Scheveningen – Christophe Staelens combines the drama of a black-and-white shot with a long exposure to create a simply stunning shot here. The underside of a pier leads us outwards in this picture where the silky smooth texture of the waters make for a very ethereal feeling image with some great details.
Monarch on Orchid, Minnesota – this shot from Mark Paulson is all about color and detail as we get an extremely close up look at a Monarch Butterfly perched on a vibrantly colored flower. The shallow depth-of-focus used in this shot does a great job of isolating the delicate subject from it’s backdrop, helping it to pop right out of the composition.
Brunel's Bridge – Jason Row takes us to England where a stone constructed bridge sits under the warm tones of light from the golden hour. The bridge itself is graced by direct light which brings out all the textures and details in the masonry, and it also creates a strong leading line that takes us into the heart of the photograph and beyond.
Vekol Sparks – let’s head on down to Arizona where storm-chasing roving photographer Mike Olbinski captures and shares a stunning picture. The colors in the sky add to the drama of the vast storm that unleashes tendrils of lightning upon the rugged landscape below in this highly dramatic image.
endless void… – Benny bulke delivers a dramatic black-and-white shot that is dripping with artistic tension. This image was captured on the shores of water with a thick fog and a lone person standing contemplatively looking outwards with an umbrella leaving us all to wonder what is passing through the mind of this observer.
McMurran Hall – built in 1859 this amazing architectural wonder stands tall in the West Virginia region of the United States. Mark Summerfield shares a terrific pair of shots of this structure, revealing the terrific Greek Revival architectural features that make is a majestic part of the area.
Misty lake – a thick layer of fog covers the landscape in this terrific shot from Peter Zajfrid shot at Gradiška Lake, Slovenija. Beautiful colors are diffused in the sky as the spires of the church Sveta Trojica peak out above the ethereal covering.
