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Landscape Photography Inspiration

50mm Landscape Photography

50mm landscape photography by Armand Ludick.
Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8. f/20, 30 seconds, ISO 64. UV Filter. Lee Big Stopper, Lee ND 0.6, Lee ND 0.3. This image would not have been possible with a wide angle lens due to the distance of the subjects. I loved the look of the islands behind the boat, but the image wouldn’t have worked if I had composed for them alone. The move- ment of the boat on the water also added an additional element of character to the image.

This article was submitted by landscape photographer Armand Ludick and featured in an early issue of Light & Landscape Magazine. Armand relates the story of how he was forced to shoot 50mm landscape photography following the loss of his wide-angle zoom lens while traveling through Southeast Asia. It’s a timely reminder of the creative possibilities of using a longer focal lengths for capturing stunning landscape photography.

As a result of my current job in the oil industry, I regularly find myself working in some very remote places for months on end, often in situations where I cannot take my camera equipment. So I like to use my precious time off to travel to and capture photographs of, as many beautiful places as I can.

Since shooting is the primary goal of my travels, I tend to pack as much gear as I can in order to be prepared for anything. I aim mainly for landscape photography, but I always bring a few other lenses just in case – I mean, you never know right? So what do I bring with me?

  • Nikon D800E
  • Nikkor 17-35 mm f/2.8
  • Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4D
  • Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 Macro
  • critters and portraits
  • Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8
  • Lee filters
    • ND Grad (0.3, 0.6, 0.9),
    • Sunset Grad (Yellow, Orange, Red)
    • Big Stopper
  • Manfrotto Tripod Adventure Series
  • Shutter release cable
  • UV and polarizing filters
  • SB910 and SB600 Flashes
  • Reflector
  • Other small accessories

So, I am pretty much well prepared for anything right? I thought so too.

My most recent travels took me to Cambodia and Thailand. I was excited about capturing the scenic beauty that has defined the dreams of hordes of travelers. I started off in Cambodia. I wanted to capture my own take on the temples of Angkor Wat.

I was using my 17-35mm lens to capture the magnificent size of the temples, However, my pictures were not turning out as I had expected. I thought I was having an off-day – for several days. I was bummed. I had just traveled halfway across the world to re-imagine Angkor Wat, and my vision sucked – it was soft and blurry.

I should have realized that it wasn’t my vision that was blurry. Before visiting the temples, I was sitting on the beach at Koh Rong in Cambodia, waiting for the sunset. I do this often in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, but it is so much more of a treat to accomplish a sunset photograph while waiting on a tranquil beach. When the sunset came, I had my 17-35mm ready on the tripod with my Lee Filters attached. But I could not capture a decent image. Perhaps it was the beer; perhaps it was my rock lobster sunburn. Either way, I hadn’t clued into the issue.

I finally realized what the issue was whilst visiting Koh Chang in Thailand. I was scootering around and came across a pier. I had never taken a pier photograph before, so I hopped off my scooter and ran down to take the shot. It was fairly cloudy with a good wind, which meant my Lee Big Stopper would have been perfect. Since it reduces the amount of light entering the camera by a factor of 1000, the resultant shutter speed would be 8 minutes long (at ISO 100, f/16). It was going to be amazing. This is when it clicked – I knew these settings would be a very good approximation. I may have needed to change the ISO a bit, maybe reduce the aperture or increase the shutter speed, but it was a good approximation. The problem I noticed was that I couldn’t shoot with a shutter speed slower than 40 seconds. I then remembered I had this issue before – a year ago in California. My aperture was stuck at f/2.8. I couldn’t adjust it! Disaster! I didn’t want to buy a new lens as my 17-35mm still had one year left on its warranty. (From my experience, the Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 is a terrible replacement lens to buy). I was stuck. I was bummed. How was I going to spend almost two months travelling in SE Asia and not take any landscapes? My solution? I knew that I could take good 50mm landscape photography. I had done it before when this first happened to me in California. I could also utilise my 70-200mm lens.

Waves lapping against a rock on the beach during goldeb hour - 50mm landscape photography.
Nikkor 50mm, f/16, 3 seconds, ISO 50. UV Filter. Polarizing Filter. I was aiming for a clean image when I shot “Rock in Water”. The 3 second shutter speed helps capture some mo- tion in the waves while also flattening out the noise. By focusing on the rock with a standard lens, I kept the propor- tions realistic and less fantastical. I feel this helps create a meditative state when viewing the image. A great example of landscape photography with a 50mm lens.

The photo above turned out to be my first attempt at 50mm landscape photography on a full-frame camera. It was this photo that inspired me, despite my predicament, to search for further great landscapes while in Thailand – I would just need to think outside of the box for framing ideas, as you have to utilize a little bit more tunnel vision when shooting with standard or telephoto lenses, especially if you have no intention of stitching anything together in post.

The photo below came while sitting at the beach on Koh Tao with a leg infection. I could barely walk so it was a good thing that great sunset views are available everywhere on the island.

A photograph of a fishing boat at sunset by Armand Ludick.
Nikkor 70-200mm, f/16, 309 seconds, ISO 200. UV Filter. Lee Big Stopper, Lee ND 0.6, Lee Red Grad. Thailand tends to have shallow beaches. If you are west facing and the tides are low at sunset, you can grab a still boat image. The effect is great, especially if there are other objects in the frame still experiencing small amounts of motion.

My next three best shots came from Koh Racha/Raya and Koh Lanta . Koh Racha surprised me! I had never heard of it and it was beautiful. Well, the sand was amazing. The water was crystal clear and blue, but the sky was mostly overcast. But at least I did not leave this island empty-handed! On my last evening, I moseyed my way down to the beach and found a good section of rocks. I had spotted this area previously and I knew the grey of the rocks, the greens of the vegetation and the sunset right down the middle, framed by the island’s hills, would be perfect!

50mm landscape photography by Armand Ludick.
Nikkor 50mm, f/16, 4 seconds, ISO 64. UV Filter. Lee ND 0.6, Lee ND 0.3, Lee Red Grad. I was lucky with the sunset and the clouds in this image. I then lucked out even further by having the boat element to build additional intrigue into the photograph. A wide-angle may have delivered more opportunities, but in this instance,it would have resulted in the boats appearingtoo small to be distinguishable. An excellent example of the creative possibilities of 50mm landscape photography.

I was very pleased that I managed to capture a more unique photograph of Koh Lanta – I have only ever experienced the flat aspects of the island. It is pretty, yes, but you can find these beaches anywhere. I ended up scootering down to the south of the island on a little scouting adventure and found that Kantiang Bay would work the best for me. It had a great little dive shop/pub culture which was very friendly and some of the rocks there added great diversity to the tranquility of the ocean.

A rocky coastline at sunset on Koh Lanta by Armand Ludick.

You’ve probably noticed that I tend towards portrait-style landscapes. I never used to do this, but then I thought, “What would be easier to print in a magazine if I were published?” However, I still like to take “traditional” landscapes as I prefer the horizontal orientation for large-format printing.

50mm landscape photography by Armand Ludick.
Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8. f/20, 30 seconds, ISO 64. UV Filter. Lee Big Stopper, Lee ND 0.6, Lee ND 0.3. This image would not have been possible with a wide angle lens due to the distance of the subjects. I loved the look of the islands behind the boat, but the image wouldn’t have worked if I had composed for them alone. The move- ment of the boat on the water also added an additional element of character to the image.

I came across the above scene on an island about 2 hours from Koh Lanta. The sky was overcast and the water was fairly still but you could still see ripples. And then there was a boat! The boat was essential. For this image, I envisioned the boat in focus, but with motion blur. I knew this shot was going to look great once printed, and I knew exactly what I was going to do to capture it.

If I’d had more time, I know that I could have captured a ton of unique landscape scenes from SE Asia that further captured
its beauty. Admittedly, I got off to a slow start since I was disappointed about losing my primary lens, (which is currently being serviced at Nikon). But next time, I will not let that slow me down. Neither should you. It may take some out-of-the-box thinking, tunnel vision or positioning. But as long as you have a lens, something beautiful can be accused, tried, convicted and sentenced to your memory card.