This video from Thomas Heaton really resonated with me. Living in Ohio, there are no looming mountains or grand vistas, but I still find plenty to photograph. Follow his process as he turns a drab day with average scenery into great images.
Though the views weren't especially remarkable nor the weather particularly cooperative, Heaton walks away with some wonderful shots, reinforcing the importance of resourcefulness and not relying overly much on a confluence of factors outside one's control. In the first scene, he uses just two small rocks as foreground interest, then takes advantage of the way waves interact with them and the surrounding sand to naturally draw the eye toward the water and then the sky, where the hint of yellow is just enough interest to complement a composition based largely in blue-greens, browns, and white. It creates a very pleasing balance in the image and offsets the rocks in the bottom third of the frame. It's savvy work and highlights the fact that we don't always have to find scenes of explicit grandeur and immensity, which is important, as it vastly widens the options we have when it comes to choosing what to shoot.
If you're interested in really diving into landscape photography, be sure to check out "Photographing The World: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi."
I like his videos and this one is no exception. This one exemplifies Thoreau's saying, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." I need to work on that.
Thomas takes an honest outlook to his photography; the man is like the Energizer Bunny.