Ossian's Tips - Sweet Light and a Wide Angle Lens

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's a new tip from Ossian Lindholm and great advice on the ingredients in this beautiful image from Argentina. This image was actually captured on one of Travel Vision's Argentina trips. It's a perfect example of the stunning landscape, but also tells you a little more about Ossian.

Imagine how much you'll raise the bar on your skill set spending a week traveling with Ossian, Lauren Hefferon and the Travel Vision/Ciclismo Classico team. More information is just a click away.

10 mm DX ( 15 mm FX ), 1/40 @ f/13, ISO 100

by Ossian Lindholm

​As a landscape photographer, we all need to capture the best images at whatever time of day the scene we love is available. However, there's very little that beats the "golden hour" of sunset or as many of you call it, "sweet light".

This image was captured  at Salinas Grandes, the Salt flats in Northwest Argentina during a recent Travel Vision Journeys trip. It's one of my favorites and while I won't deny Mother Nature gave me some help, there were plenty of things in my control.

First, shooting with a wide angle lens captured the feeling I wanted.  Second, a low camera angle together with the time of day brought out the shadows and gave the image texture.  Third was my tripod, not only for help with a longer exposure, but to make sure my horizon was level, which is especially important when shooting wide angle.

In a workshop I taught earlier in the year, my style of teaching was described as,

Increasing your visual awareness and to intuitively use the camera to connect, compose, enhance and expand your mindfulness and personal vision...By embracing serendipity, we will enjoy the fine art of wandering and we will connect more intimately with our natural surroundings.

Take the time with each image you capture to connect with your surroundings. Capturing great images isn't as much about timing as it is about taking the time. Think through what you're seeing and remember, your camera is only a tool to help enhance your mind's eye.