In this article, I share one of the most important things you can do to take better landscape and city landscape photos.
A few months ago, I visited Donegal for the second time. My last visit was more than ten years ago. County Donegal is located in the north of Ireland and is famous for its rugged mountainous landscape and stunning coastline. It’s full of great photo spots, yet during my first visit, I couldn’t take advantage of it. It was part of a week-long road trip including Northern Ireland. I packed in as many places as possible in the few days I had. As a result, I ended up in many unfamiliar places.
For example, I photographed the Fanad lighthouse from the main viewpoint. Since I had just one day in the field, I didn’t have time for extensive scouting and settled for a clear composition. Thanks to the conditions that morning, the photo looks good. But as I later discovered, there is much better content available.
my second trip
When I returned to Ireland this year, I decided to spend the two weeks allotted for the trip in Donegal. Some people will visit the entire island in two weeks. I did the same thing on my first trip to Ireland 16 years ago. It was a rush; It was great for sightseeing but unsuitable for photography.
I divided this year’s trip into three parts to get acquainted with some photo locations. During the second week, I focused on the Funad Peninsula. We rented a small house just a 20-minute drive from Funad Lighthouse and I went there almost every day.
I never would have done this when I started in photography. There is so much to see and explore in the north of Ireland, and I try to photograph two different locations every day – one for sunrise and one for sunset.
But over the years, I’ve learned that to get the best photos, you need to take time to become familiar with the places you visit. This is why local photographers usually have the edge. They know their photography backyard, understand lighting at different times of the day, are familiar with seasonal changes and weather patterns, and can respond quickly.
And that’s what I did this year. I took the above photo on a stormy morning with the tide rising – ideal for this beach near Funad Lighthouse. I decided to go there that very morning when I looked out the window and saw the weather forecast. I even explored this beach for compositions two days in advance, I knew where to park my car and how to get there. It is not easy to find it in the dark, and only my familiarity with it allowed me to photograph it.
That familiarity brought me to the vantage point from which I captured the image below. By then, I had visited the Fanad Lighthouse several times, knew my way around the rocks, and had seen how different tides and waves changed the look of the scene. Here, low tide with a large swell provided the best conditions. Then, I decided to go there that very morning.
to become familiar with a place
In my portfolioYou’ll find many examples of how my familiarity with a location led to my best photos. Achieving this means photographing fewer locations. But this is a compromise you must be willing to make. Returning to a great photo location multiple times is never a wasted effort.
For example, Faned Lighthouse felt different during each visit and I never got bored of it. The main thing is to choose appropriate places to focus. It requires research, planning, and sometimes multiple trips. From my first whirlwind trip through Donegal, I knew what the Fanad Peninsula had to offer and that it would be a perfect home base for photographing not only the Fanad Lighthouse but also places like Great Pollet Arch, Murder Hole Beach, or Mount Errigal .
But, besides the Funad Peninsula, I stayed at two more places during the first week of my trip. Although Donegal is relatively small, driving to more remote photo locations can take a long time. The apartments I chose were always within an hour of my photo locations. Since the days were already getting shorter in September, this requirement also gave me time to rest between scouting and photography. With a single home base, this would not have been possible.
I follow this one hour rule on most of my trips. This will not be required if you travel alone. But if you travel with your spouse, you need some balance, and too much time spent in the car traveling to and from photo locations disrupts this.
However, visiting a location multiple times and spending more time in an area does not automatically create the familiarity you need to take great photos. You should be more considerate and scout. In this articleI share several tips on how to get to know a place. It doesn’t involve heading into the unknown and stopping at famous sights. Become an explorer and get rewarded.
conclusion
I could easily visit twice as many places in the last 15 years. However, I chose to return to several locations. For example, I visited Morocco four times, Cornwall and Portugal three times, and remote places like Seychelles, Vietnam, and New Zealand twice. And I never regretted coming back. Often, I took my best photos during a previous trip because I knew exactly where I wanted to be and under what conditions.
You should do the same, at least from time to time. Combine it with exploring new places to create a good balance. This way your portfolio will get better and better.
