Here's What Landscape Photography Really Sounds Like

If you watch a lot of YouTube vlogs or tutorials on landscape photography, you're probably pretty used to voice-overs and background music. And while those are fine for storytelling and education, they might hide what the experience is actually like. This great video will show you the natural experience.

Coming to you from Thomas Heaton, this different video is a neat look at what landscape photography is actually like to experience. One of the reasons I love shooting landscapes so much is because it's really a meditative experience for me, often to the point that the camera is somewhat secondary, coming into the equation when a shot develops and then retreating back to the bag and out of mind. The experience is quiet and has its own ebb and flow, and that can be lost when you're trying to talk about a shot in a video. Even if you're not into photographing landscapes, I totally recommend taking a weekend day to head into your local forest or fields and spend some time shooting them just to experience being alone with your thoughts and moving at the pace nature does, as you can't ask the light to show up for your composition on command. You have to respect nature's timeline. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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5 Comments

I really enjoy a lot of Thomas Heaton's videos. Landscape photography seems like it takes a lot of time and dedication.

I dig it. That quiet time shooting in the backcountry is the reason I shoot landscape. Although when printing I would certainly have some music jamming!

Inspired. You can see his cameraman origins.

That was actually a fun video that really encapsulates my mornings on the beach. Of course, the whole time I'm thinking about how frantic he must me moving around to work the BTS cameras and his still camera making for a much more stressful morning than what is shown.

This is so much as it is in reality. Well done to Thomas. Love it :D