2 minute read
Britain’s Best Landscapes and How to Photograph Them Reviewed by Jan Harris
A Book Review by Jan Harris
Britain’s Best Landscapes and how to Photograph them is written by Robert Harvey BA ARPS EFIAP CSci CEnv MCIWEM
My first impression of the book was that it contained some excellent photographs, and I enjoyed looking through them; many will be inspirational to landscape photographers. This first part of the book is a ‘How To’ guide. The second part contains details of 100 outstanding locations, with OS grid references, postcodes for parking, details of accessibility, and the best times to photograph each one.
The book starts by discussing what ‘Landscape’ is in photography, and the factors that produced the British Landscape. I found it fascinating to consider the influences, both natural and human, that produced the varied landscape we see across Britain today. Next it considers why you would want to do Landscape photography (a question I ask myself regularly when getting out of bed at silly o’clock to shoot another dawn!) and what kit you need to do it.
Then there is some excellent advice about planning and preparing to go on a Landscape shoot – researching a location and considering the season, the light, the weather, and the time of day that will suit it best. For example the chapter on photographing the coast includes useful information and advice about tides, and the combination of light and tide level that best suit a number of locations.
There are chapters discussing technical aspects of Landscape photography – focal length, depth of field, exposure (including HDR and long exposure), types of lighting, and the use of colour and monochrome – which will be useful for a photographer starting out in Landscape photography - and chapters on developing your creativity and visual style for more experienced photographers.
The locations covered in the book are classic Landscape locations throughout Britain, with locations in all the National Parks. Inevitably some areas of the country have a higher density of locations included than others. If you want a comprehensive location guide, then you might prefer to choose a book that covers the specific area of the country you want to visit.
This is a book to help you learn to plan and improve your photography – and the more you plan the more you can take advantage of your opportunities to capture the best landscape images.
