Many landscape photographers complain that their local area for photography is uninteresting. While travel for landscape photography can be invigorating, your local area has untapped potential waiting to be discovered. Have you taken the time to explore your local area to find interesting scenes?
In this video, Nigel Danson shares images from his book, all of which were taken in his local area. Danson goes well beyond the often-heard practice locally—the mantra that many photographers discuss. While there is value in learning your camera settings and techniques locally to be prepared for travel, a photographer is overlooking the potential for high-quality images in their local area.
Danson discusses how photographing locally presents the opportunity to revisit a place more frequently. The more you visit a location, the greater the odds of you being lucky. The weather conditions will vary, and you may experience familiar scenes in new, interesting light, or in the rain or fog, or even the snow. All of these conditions can help transform a familiar scene into a powerful image.
Danson ends the video with viewer submissions regarding an uninteresting area where they live. Using Google Earth as a tool to explore, Danson highlights several areas in their area with fresh eyes that he feels are worth exploring.
I always encourage photographers to practice locally, but usually with a lean toward it being to better learn the fundamentals of landscape photography. I appreciated that one can still capture interesting landscapes in your area with just a bit of patience and a fresh eye.
