Sunset Through the Trees

I am starting to realize that a lot of planning goes into a landscape shot. There’s a ton of stuff that happens before the shutter closes that must be accounted for in order to capture the best possible shot. I owe a lot of this new found knowledge to Anne McKinnell who wrote an excellent eBook titled Before the Shutter which I highly recommend to anyone looking for some guidance in planning where, when and how to get the best landscape shot possible.

Daily Photo – Sunset Through the Trees

I get so caught up shooting a scene that I’ll often forget to experiment with different lenses, f-stops, or even different focal points. However, when I went to Lookout Rock, I arrived an hour before sunset and spent the time walking around and looking for different vantage points.

Basically, I planned my shoot.

The result was that I not only was able to capture an amazing 36 exposure HDR Panoramic Photo, but I was also able to pull out my telephoto and get some interesting compositions of the trees against the sunset.

I owe this shoot entirely too what I read in Anne’s book, so again, if you’re also having trouble planning your shoots, or if you want a bit of inspiration on what to do when you get to a location check out Anne McKinnell’s new eBook Before the Shutter. It’s well written, and beautifully illustrated with her own photography and best of all - IT’S FREE!