The Importance of Knowing and Photographing Your Local Landscapes

The Importance of Knowing and Photographing Your Local Landscapes

When you look at landscape photography online, you will probably notice that, for the most part, it is of extraordinary locations that are difficult and pricey to reach, at best. And beyond that, you have further issues to contend with, such as distinguishing your images among the thousands of others created at the spot. This great video tutorial discusses why you should be embracing your local area and how to go about doing it. 

Coming to you from Alister Benn of Expressive Photography, this excellent video tutorial discusses the importance of embracing your local area for landscape photography. I have always thought this is crucially important. First, it is often expensive and time-consuming to travel to popular locations, and even if you get there, you have to find a way to create photos that stand out from the thousands of others. On the other hand, if you embrace the area around you, not only do you not have to compete with so many photographers, you can also leverage your local expertise to create photos that those also from the area will appreciate, giving you a leg up if you are hoping to sell your work. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Benn.

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out "Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi." 

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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4 Comments

Is their any point in photographing the Grand Canyon or Sedona, anymore?

Can you answer this question yourself? Do you take photos to impress others or because it gives you pleasure? Be true to yourself. 😉

I live in Mesa, AZ & usually manage to drive to Sedona twice a year. There is no off-season. 'Influencers' and world-wide tourists have ruined this town that is in the middle of one of the earth's great landscapes. Most of the town is now short-term rentals. They can't even get school teachers because there is nowhere for them to live. The US Forest Service says they are going to implement reservations on the more popular trails (You know, the ones people do yoga poses on). The spots called 'vortexes' (vortices?) are crowded with genuine weirdos and there are plenty of dumb people making dumb decisions. A couple of years ago a woman tried to climb to the top of the red sandstone Bell Rock. She 'cliffed-out' (climbing until you can't go up or down) and called 911 for rescue, but she slipped on the sandstone and fell to her death before help arrived.

No, I don't take pictures there & for a very good reason. Photographs don't do justice to this magnificent landscape.

To me, I like to see what used to be the barren landscape areas that I have photographed before, after they got covered with buildings & homes. I used a 35mm Minolta SRT-101 camera to take pictures back then in the late 1970s in Oeange County, California. I am now in central Texas. I am not a professional photographer, but love taking pictures. But sadly, most photos I take here are from my phone camera, even thought I have a collection of full-frame DSLR, & a MILC.