Digital Landscape Photography

John and Barbara Gerlach have done it again! Digital Landscape Photography follows after and builds upon the simple approach they adopted in their first book, Digital Nature Photography: The Art and the Science, and is characterized by simple, thoughtful text and eye-popping, gorgeous photography. Anyone who has attended the popular workshops and seminars presented by the Gerlachs will be immediately at home with this format. A casual style is employed deliberately by these talented teachers, who tirelessly assist their students with cheerfulness and humor. While reading this book, one can virtually hear the lilt in their voices and the chuckle following tongue-in-cheek remarks which make their lessons unforgettable. The splendid photography corroborates their expounded methods for refining your photographic technique.

Aesthetically the Gerlachs' new book is very attractive. The design / layout is, in my opinion, a potential award winner. I also enjoy the landscape 11.5" x 8" format of the volume, which matches its predecessor as a set on my shelf. The mesmerizing images themselves, from prints which Barbara personally produced, are perhaps rightfully the central joy of holding this book, and are entirely digital. (Some books, even recent ones, by notable photographers are still using scanned slides.) Such pictures are bound to get you reaching for your camera and running out the door. If you're more disciplined than that, you'll be hungrily reading the text to discover the techniques used to open a window on such beauty. I have passed the book around to friends who are only casually interested in photography. They'll politely open the book in the middle, stop and stare, grunt a little, then turn to the front of the book and systematically page through it from beginning to end, ooh-ing and ah-ing along the way. They are obviously entranced. Sometimes they start thumbing again. Indeed, it makes you want to repeatedly peruse and to reread.

A wealth of topics is covered in 10 chapters: Landscapes are Everywhere; Cameras and Accessories; Choosing and Using Lenses; Mastering Exposure; Techniques for Sharp Images; Light on the Landscape; Composing Pleasing Images; Special Subjects; High Dynamic Range Images; Panoramas. Succinctly, emphasis is placed on carefully selecting and correctly using photography equipment suitable to your budget and imaging intent.

It will be noticed that little space is dedicated to post-processing, although it is often mentioned in passing. "So many books already cover that topic", the Gerlachs write. Their purpose, then, is to stress "shooting the highest quality images possible in the field". But they don't want you to wait until you get "in the field" to prepare for fine pictures: they also underline the crucial importance of learning to use your equipment: reading and continually consulting user guides and manuals, getting a thorough feel for the controls and menus of your camera, lenses and other gear, experimenting with options you may not understand. These are central tenets of the Gerlach doctrine, repeatedly stressed in the classroom, in nature and, of course, in this book.

Relevant aspects of post-processing aren't ignored, either. Two digital techniques that have increasingly fired the enthusiasm of photographers, including the authors, are specifically treated. These are the 'panorama' (digitally stitching overlapping views together to make one wide – or tall – seamless image) and high dynamic range imagry (or HDR, combining a bracketed range of exposures via software to capture both shadows and highlights otherwise impossible in conventional digital photography). Included in the discussions are the equipment needed to shoot the images, the photographic technique used to actually capture the pictures, and the software used to produce the finished results. I found their tutorial on using Photomatix Pro to produce HDR images clearer and more practical than many other "how-to" books books and web-pages dedicated specifically to this purpose. Of course, gorgeous photos are presented as examples which delight and inspire.

I can't think of a basic digital landscape photographic technique which is left unmentioned in Digital Landscape Photography, and much of the advice for achieving high quality landscape pictures is also applicable to other types of image-making, such as macro and close-up photography.

While the book is deliberately untechnical, hard-core perfectionists will be delight in advanced topics such as finding a given lens' nodal point (which needs to be above the turning axis of your tripod) in order to shoot panorama without troublesome distortions.

John's and Barbara's friends, students, nature lovers and photographers-at-large will be eagerly awaiting their next volume… t.b.a.!

Disclosure: The Gerlachs kindly gave me a copy of the book, since I helped edit the text. This review is a spontaneous reaction to my own enthusiasm at seeing the final copy. To be sure, there are always corrections that can be made in the next edition of a book, this fine one included. In fact, someone has mentioned some typos: oops! Sorry those were missed. Let the Gerlachs know if you find any – their contact information is found in the back of the book. One small correction I personally desire concerns the caption (put in after the final edit) regarding a certain image on page 137 by (ahem!) yours truly, which was not taken at the Michigan Falls Color Workshop, as stated, but during the Spring in Ohio at the Hocking Hills in the Shoot-the-Hills Contest. (Goto [...]). Of course, attending a Gerlach educational and economic day-long seminar shortly before inevitably improved my technique, and I am a true believer. This book promises to do great things for your own images. Nothing would make John and Barb happier.

Dan Pater
Rating: 5 / 5

The book was clear, consise and extremely informative. It would be a great resource for the beginner or advanced amateur. The included pictures help to clarify the text as well as being a joy to look at.
Rating: 5 / 5

Very well written, authors explain everything in plain english. One of the best books on digital landscape photography. Only nit is ink used for the text, but minor. Also have their other book, Digital Nature Photography, which is also excellent.
Rating: 5 / 5

Having transitioned to digital photograhy 4 1/2 years ago with a Nikon D-50, I recently upgraded to a D300S. About the same time, I purchased the Gerlach's newest book, "Digital Landscape Photography." This has been a perfect match, helping make sense of my camera's 404 page owner's manual and the overwhelming number of options available. Back-button focus, release priority, RGB histogram, live view, and mirror lock-up are just a few of the critical features of newer cameras that are used in their work-flow and so well explained in the book. All the images in the book were created with the settings and shooting strategies they recommend.

There are many other noteworthy aspects of landscape photography discussed in this book, and other reviews on this site have already addressed those points.

I was so impressed with what the authors had to offer that I've also signed up for one of their one-day seminars.

Rating: 5 / 5

Digital. Landscape. Photography. Three words I like quite a bit, and seeing them combined to be the title of John & Barbara Gerlach's recent book published by Focal Press, it shouldn't be a surprise that I would pick it up. The authors have filled the book not only with their own beautiful photography, but with scads of very useful information. Having taught umpteen landscape photography classes, they set out to collect their thoughts and experience into a tome that aims to be the complete reference on field techniques for landscape photography. The question is, did they succeed?

Digital Landscape Photography (DLP for my tired fingers), doesn't get caught down in the day to day internet argument of 'is X or Y camera better?', at home they make use of the two biggest digital camera gear providers, instead they point out the slight differences between the two systems while noting that it's technique much more than a certain brand of gear that will yield the best results. I won't go every detail, but rest assured John & Barbara have covered most all the bases, from aperture to zooms. After discussion of equipment selection and usage, they delve into more specialized topics for the final third of the book, including some landscape classics including waterfalls and autumn colors. Discussion of other more advanced techniques that have found some favor with landscape photographers – a decent discussion of high dynamic range (HDR) photography and brief discussion of the digital creation of panoramic images using various stitching software.

DLP is a great book for beginning and intermediate photographers looking to improve their photographic skills. John & Barbara bring their passion for the art of capturing landscapes into clear, easy to understand language that even those not familiar with terminology will quickly grasp. My only gripes are that it isn't a book to pick up and get sucked into – I was left occasionally feeling as though I was reading through a summarized frequently asked questions lists (no doubt the best-illustrated of its kind). Additionally, I noted a few typos here and there throughout the book while reading through – easy enough to correct in a future printing.

Back to my initial question – did they succeed in creating a reference book for digital landscape photography? Yes, indeed – I give them four moose! If you're a beginning or intermediate photographer looking to get into landscape, look the Gerlachs up.

This review was originally written for the Alaskan Apple User's Group – [...]

Conflict of interest disclosure: a copy of this book was provided to me at no charge by the publisher for review.
Rating: 4 / 5