8.5 Miles Hiked. 3750′ Climbed. 3 images I’m glad I took, 198 I’m indifferent towards.
I don’t think you could find a person alive who, after walking in nature for several hours, (barring any horrible accidents) wouldn’t say their mood improved. I’m the same way, but what makes it particularly fun for me when I go is that I always have a goal in mind – take a nice landscape photography image.
A lot of people might find that stressful, and I’d understand why – it’s a job to do. But something I’ve learned is that this is the best kind of job there is – one where you’re your own boss. Luckily for me, I’m a very kind boss.
Sometimes you can go out on location and get treated to stunning light – or dramatic stormy conditions. Other times you can get a lovely blue sky day that makes for great hiking, but challenging landscape photography. Because if you ask anyone who’s been shooting long enough –
A GREAT VIEW DOES NOT A GREAT PHOTOGRAPH MAKE
Zach Ferretti, 2023
So without further ado, lets get onto the reason you’re all here (probably) looking at and talking about some images and why I shot them and what I like about them!
The Ridge
- Camera: Fujifilm XT-4
- Lens: Fujifilm 16mm f/2.8
- Shutter Speed: 1/280
- ISO: 160
- f/: 9
This is not a portfolio image. But it’s a nice image that I’m happy I shot regardless. The special part of the image to me is that the contrast of the bright blue sky and stark white clouds against the rich green shadow of the mountainside. This is also a retrospective view of the trail that I’d just hiked. The Franconia Ridge Trail is a great hike that takes you up past several stunning waterfalls before you reach the ridgeline where you walk along the peaks of Little Haystack, Mt Lincoln, & Mt. Lafayette. It’s one of the more popular hikes in New England and I’d done this hike up to Little Haystack and Mt. Lincoln several times before, but this was the first time I completed the loop.
The Trunk
- Camera: Fujifilm XT-4
- Lens: Fujifilm 16mm f/2.8
- Shutter Speed: 1/125
- ISO: 640
- f/: 5.6
A photographer I’ve watched for a long time – Thomas Heaton – once said something pretty cool to the effect of “your photography style is what you’re interested in”. So when I’m on a trail and I see something that interests me, I make sure to stop – look at it – and let me style flow. I like the contrasting greens near the bottom of the image with the yellowish green of the moss contrasted against the almost crayola green of the freshly grown plants near the base of it.
& The Lot
- Camera: Fujifilm XT-4
- Lens: Fujifilm 16mm f/2.8
- Shutter Speed: 1/500
- ISO: 160
- f/: 5.6
You may have noticed that the title of this image is green. That’s because it’s my favorite of the day! I tend to try and not photograph scenes that have people with them when I go on these landscape shoots or the nature hikes but sometimes a scene works really well and who am I to ignore that. I think there’s a few things that work subtly to make this image stand out. The white van on the 2/5th line of the image acts as a good anchor point and stands as the only car differentiating itself from the rest that are parked. The clouds and the trees on the right-hand side of the image all are drawing the eye into that point of the frame – the leading lines from these subjects all collide right on (or above for the clouds) the anchor point we’d previously mentioned. Finally, the dark shadow of the main tree on the left serves as a contrast to the brightness of the other two thirds of the frame.
Sometimes, the most important part of the photographic process is getting out there – not getting the image. While I was on this hike I took 198 shots that I ended up thinking were okay. But only the three I’ve attached here are ones that I’m proud of and wanted to call attention to. That’s how the job goes sometimes, and it only makes it that much more rewarding when you do get those incredible shots.
Trust me, if you try often enough and go out frequently to practice landscape photography – those incredible shots WILL come.