Using Light to Add Depth to Your Landscape Photographs

Chasing the Light

Photographers often use the phrase “chasing the light” and for good reason. Light is possibly one of the most important elements in a landscape photograph. Light can change the look, feel and mood of an image. Light can add depth and contrast to a photograph. Nowhere is this more evident to me than it is up on Dartmoor. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve been stood in front of a spectacular tor only for my photograph to look dull and two-dimensional thanks to flat light.

Dartmoor is also a great place to see how light can add depth and contrast to your landscape photographs! I recently visited Great Staple Tor where the constantly changing cloud cover reminded me how quickly the light can change on Dartmoor and how that changing light can be used to good effect.

Not one to pass up the opportunity to create a video on the subject I created this video. Enjoy!

 Landscape Photographs from Great Staple Tor

Below you’ll find the photographs you saw in the video plus a bonus photo that I took early on that didn’t make the video.

Dawn over Great Staple Tor, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/18, 1/4 sec at ISO 64.

Dawn over Great Staple Tor #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 20mm, f/11, 0.4 sec at ISO 64.

Dawn over Great Staple Tor, Dartmoor, Devon #3 - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/11, 0.4 sec at ISO 64.

Dawn over Great Staple Tor, Dartmoor, Devon #4 - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/11, 1/15th sec at ISO 64.