Bleak and Beautiful

I feel strangely at peace in bleak, empty, landscapes. I get a real sense of belonging and calm. And even better if the wind is howling and the clouds are scudding to create drama with the light on the landscape. I feel alive.

I always under expose my landscape shots, as this seems to better capture what I see (and feel), in the camera.

I love to drive along empty roads, stopping when the light changes or something catches my eye and then spending a while just absorbing the view and the atmosphere.

Settings and Approach

50 mm (f/1.4), or 21 mm (f/2.0) lens.

Aperture Priority, using f/22 where light conditions allow for a handheld shot, or f/3.5 where they don’t. Exposure compensation -1

Challenge: Low light, light direction. Sometimes it is not possible to get the scenery / shot you want because you cannot get the light behind you. For that reason, I like to experiment with monochrome where the light is too difficult for a “normal” shot.