Why creativity is important for Landscape Photography

When I do interviews about landscape photography, I often get asked…..

What is one piece of advise you would give to an aspiring landscape photographer?

My Answer: Learn to develop creativity!

In today’s digital world, good photography seems almost synonymous with good post-processing skills. When someone takes a look at a brilliant landscape photograph, they often assume that the photographer used Photoshop or Lightroom. There’s the problem of “gadget envy”… the belief that having the latest and best gear makes your photographs better. That leads to the belief that the equipment is somehow responsible for capturing the image. After all, who doesn’t want to get their hands on the brand new Sony camera or master that complicated 32-layer Photoshop workflow for landscape photography?

Yep… I too fell into this gear and post-processing trap when I first started out in landscape photography. But my perspective changed over time. Today, I no long consider post-processing and gear acquisition as top priorities. Instead, I am more interested in pursuing creative photography.

What is Creative Photography?

It is not easy to define creative photography… and almost every photographer may have his or her own version of what makes creative photography. For the purpose of this article, we define creative photography as a photo captured using out-of-the-box thinking that lays outside the normal photographic process and is open to interpretation. If you really want to develop creativity then I recommend you make this an intentional habit of pursuing creative photography.

Here are few landscape photography examples of creative photography and out-of-the-box thinking that went along with them.

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  Hummingbird captured with Lensbaby Velvet 85 Lens using creative focus technique – San Gerardo Valley, Costa Rica

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  Creative photography using shallow DOF and selective focus by Varina Patel

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  Creative wildlife photography from Florida Everglades National Park, Florida

Why Developing Creativity Should be a Priority

So, why is creative photography so important? What I have learned is that, while proper equipment, knowing how to shoot, and Photoshop skills are definitely helpful, they do not guarantee a good photo. This is because light, weather, and environment for nature photography are unpredictable. And no amount of technical prowess helps you overcome this unpredictable nature of landscape photography.

It took me almost a decade to convince myself of this. Here is how it happened…

Sea Anemone Challenge – First Attempt

My first attempt at photographing a sea anemone was early in my landscape photography career. By this time, I had mastered all the technical skills necessary to capture a stunning photo of a sea anemone in a tide pool. I used a circular polarizer and a tripod to capture this photo. My camera was positioned to ensure that the shadow did not obscure the scene. My exposure was spot-on and my aperture and focus settings guaranteed that everything in the image was sharply in focused. After capturing this image, I used a RAW converter to bring out the details and vivid colors of the sea anemone. In other words, I had mastered all the technical skills needed to capture the photos of the sea anemone under water. Yet the final result was nothing more then a snapshot. This nature photo lacked the WOW factor.

Intimate landscape photography attempt to capture sea anemone in tide pools in 2003 – Olympic National Park

Sea Anemone Challenge – Second Attempt

Take a look at this shot of sea anemones from Olympic National Park from 2010. I used a macro lens, a crop-factor camera, and a tripod. I shot this without a circular polarizer because I wanted a fast-enough shutter speed to minimize the motion of the tentacles. The composition was selected to showcase the sea anemone’s brilliant colors. Compared with the first image, this image has the WOW factor. Our students always want to know how I captured this image and viewers are captivated by the colors, details, and pattern of the sea anemone.

Intimate landscape photography attempt to capture sea anemone in tide pools in 2010 – Olympic National Park

What Changed in the Process?

I had the technical skills to capture the photos of sea anemones during both the attempts, so what changed between my first and second attempt? During my second attempt, I use creativity to navigate the unpredictable conditions encountered by landscape photographers. Here how I did it:

• During my second attempt (Image #2), I spent a lot of time searching the shoreline for sea anemones with brilliant colors. Not just any pretty anemone would do.
• I needed to find one that was in a tide pool that was not too deep and not too shallow. A deep tide pool with too much water may distort the shape of a sea anemone as well as dull its brilliant colors. If the tide pool did not have enough water, the tentacles would break the surface, adding a distracting meniscus around them. The water around the anemones mattered too. For the best results, I wanted still water that was free of floating debris.
• When I found what I was looking for, I positioned my camera so that light reflecting off the surface of the water bounced away from the lens. This created a nearly-perfect underwater view. This allowed me to photograph the sea anemone without a circular polarizer to block the light. I was able to take this shot with a high shutter speed and a narrower aperture.
• But I still had a problem. There was sand in the sea anemone. I filled an empty water bottle with sea water and poured in on one side of the tide pool. This created a gentle current that washed away the sand and left me with a clean sea anemone with stunning colors.

As you can see, I used out-of-the-box thinking to clean the sea anemone as well as to position my camera to forego the use of a circular polarizer. One would assume that by 2010 I had mastered the the art of photographing a sea anemone under water, but this is not the case. Ever time we wanted to take an intimate landscape photo of a sea anemone, there was a new challenge to over come.

Ongoing Anemone Attempts

Over the years, Varina and I have encountered a variety of conditions while photographing the sea creatures. Each time, I had to work through the problem in conjunction with the technical skills. Here is what happened during our subsequent attempts and how creative thinking was needed to take the photo

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  I used salt water to simulate the tide to capture the brilliant tentacles of the sea anemone, Australia

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  I used a dark background to eliminate the prism effect and isolate the subject. Big Island, Hawaii

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  Varina used double exposure to capture all the details in the sea urchin. Hawaii

There is no doubt that technical and post-processing skills are important. However, technical skills alone cannot guarantee a breathtaking landscape photo. Besides technical skills, your ability to think through a situation, consider and solve potential problems will help you overcome the unpredictable nature of landscape photography.

Do you agree? Feel free to share your own experiences and opinions in the comments below.

About Author Jay Patel

I could startoff like this – “Seeds of Jay Patel’s appreciation for beautiful places were planted early in his childhood….” but it would get boring really fast. I will just sum it up and say that I am a Landscape and Wilderness Photographer who loves to capture dramatic light. My photographs have been published in various magazines, calendars and advertising materials throughout the world.
Patience is a virtue...unless you are chasing your dreams

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