Here’s a great article by landscape photographer William Neil.
My First Essay for Outdoor Photographer in 1997
August 16th, 2012
Dawn, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada 1995
Today, I had a request from my long-time friend and master photographerMichael Frye to post the essay in which I tell the story of making my favorite image, Dawn, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada 1995. Here it is as sent to Outdoor Photographer for first my On Landscape column in 1997. For more of my essays, see the OP site here. Michael is mentioning this story is his upcoming blog post: In the Moment: A Landscape Photography Blog
Landscapes for my Spirit
© 1997 William NeillWelcome to Outdoor Photographer’s new column on landscape photography! I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you on all aspects of the landscape genre. I have been an avid reader of OP since its beginning and I hope that I can contribute to all the exciting ideas and images that are regularly offered here.
The best way that I can think of to launch this column is to put forth the underlying motivation and inspiration for my photography. Any future discussions on light, or composition, or equipment, or technique will be based on this foundation. I am not one for learning an approach to creating images unless that route allows for a direct connection with the subject and helps me to communicate my own response to it. In other words, I keep my approach very simple and pragmatic. We, photographers as a group, tend to let the technique of photography get in the way. Ansel Adams often complained of the overabundance of sharp photos with fuzzy concepts!
Continue reading here.