Landscape photography from the field

Aperture

Why I Started Shooting Landscapes Wide Open (And What It Taught Me About Seeing)
Video Tutorials

Why I Started Shooting Landscapes Wide Open (And What It Taught Me About Seeing)

I have spent the better part of twenty years defaulting to f/16. It is practically muscle memory at this point. Alarm goes off before four, I pull on my hat, grab the bag, and by the time I am standing in front of whatever scene made me drive out there, my hand is already reaching for that small aperture. Maximum depth of field, front to back sharpness, everything in focus. That has been my religion for a long time.

How to Photograph a Sunstar: The Two Things That Actually Matter
Video Tutorials

How to Photograph a Sunstar: The Two Things That Actually Matter

There is a particular kind of shot that stops people mid-scroll. The sun sits just behind a rock, a tree, or the edge of a cliff, and light rays spray outward in perfect symmetry like a starburst drawn by hand. I spent an embarrassing amount of time in my early years chasing that look without fully understanding what was creating it. I knew aperture was involved, but I kept blowing out the highlights or getting a smear of lens flare instead of crisp rays.