My favourite landscape photographs of 2022
Just a couple of quick side notes to get out of the way first, I do put a lot of effort into the Instagram stories when I go out to take photographs and a lot of people commented and sent me messages saying “Hey, you should put all that together and make a bit more of a long-form video like YouTube videos”. So this is me answering those calls.
Now, let's talk about travel and landscape photography.
Photographing sunset in western Algarve
I captured this image in winter time while we were living in Praia da Luz, in western Algarve. It's a very simple landscape and a very simple sunset image.
One of the things that I really enjoy about this image is the leading lines that were created by the rocks, as they form from the bottom right, and bring you through the frame, leading the eye up to that nice starburst from the sunset. This image is a time blend. There are a couple of images captured; one for the nice light that's catching on the rocks in the foreground, and then rattling off a good few pictures to try and capture the water movement. Combined together, we get this.
Photographing Cabo de São Vicente
This scene is a very popular sunset location, especially here in south west Portugal where I live.
This is the Lighthouse of Cabo de São Vicente, the most southwestern point in Portugal and on continental Europe. I was super lucky with the light that happened in the sky this particular evening.
I had visited the lighthouse a few times and I knew that I wanted to photograph it at some point. I'm just so pleased with how the light really caught in the sky.
Like the last image, this is a blend of images to control the dynamic range. You gotta capture those few extra exposures just to keep the highlights and shadows nice and in check.
The stars over Skagsanden Beach, Lofoten, Norway
You know sometimes you're out and you're thinking, “Oh wow look at this awe-inspiring scene” and then you just randomly turn around and you’re smacked in the face with another epic vista!
This picture is one of those moments. I randomly turned the camera around on the top of the tripod and took a picture without realizing that the I.S.O on the camera was too high. But then when I saw this on the back of the camera I thought, “Yes, this is a real banger of an image”. I'm super happy with how it turned out!!
This was taken at Skagsanden Beach in the Lofoten Islands in 2022. There is just something about this image that just spoke so strongly to me. The lines created in that small river in the foreground, leading up to this massive mountain in the clouds and those lovely stars behind.
It’s a very happy accident as they say, so here's to many more of those!
Northern Lights at Hamnøy Bridge, Lofoten, Norway
The next image is again, from Norway. You know, getting to see the Northern Lights any time or anywhere, is such a privilege and this night was no exception. I mean, it was just absolutely magic. This particular vista is a very popular spot for landscape photographers to visit, even without the Northern Lights. Hamnøy Bridge is an absolutely fantastic scene.
The contrast of these lovely red houses and cabins along the right-hand side of the frame that leads up to this absolutely massive mountain. The whole time we were in Norway we had super clear skies and while it may not have boded well for “epic landscape photography sunsets”, it sure lends itself well to epic Northern Lights scenes.
Getting the opportunity to be there at that time to photograph was all you could ask for a landscape photographer. I am so absolutely thrilled with how this one turned out and how it looked in the end.
Fire in the Sky, Praia do Castelejo, Portugal
One of the things that I tried to achieve with this picture was to mirror the sky and the water.
So, you've got the absolutely blazing sky on the top right of the scene and then the receding water going out on the bottom left. I have versions of this scene where there's no water, there's loads of water, and there's less water, and so on, but this particular frame for me, just seemed to scream balance. I'm absolutely thrilled with how it turned out!
Shifting Sands, Kolmanskop, Namibia
Onward we go now to Namibia and if anybody follows me on Instagram they'll have known that I was in Namibia in October 2022.
One of the places that we visited was a place called Kolmanskop. What makes it special is the abandoned mining town; it's like something lost in time. This tiny little village that the desert is slowly reclaiming offers fantastic opportunities to capture dramatic images.
There's so much tremendous opportunity to create, see and capture the contrast of light and shadow and of course the sand and the brokenness of the whole place.
This is actually taken at sunset with the light coming in from the right-hand side of the frame. It just adds this gorgeous contrast to the whole scene and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.
Reflections of Reine, Lofoten, Norway
We shall return back to The Lofoten Islands, this I remember so vividly.
Standing at this viewpoint and seeing this scene unfold as the evening progressed, I was so happy at the notion of what I was photographing. It was just so beautiful. The reflection, the balance, the contrast, the colours, and the tones, everything about this evening was just pure magic!
This is probably one of my favourite pictures that I have ever taken, it is a blend in relation to the time. The clouds did move really really really really slowly across the frame and the main bulk of the image, the mountains and the reflections, were taken about three or four minutes and the difference. I just wanted to have the cloud in the image to help to balance what would otherwise be an empty frame around the mountains.
Rough seas of Praia Do Castelejo, western Algarve, Portugal
I have wanted to photograph this particular scene for ages. When I first visited, the sunlight was catching on the left side of the rock so didn't light up this side of the mound. I'm so thrilled with how everything came to be in this image.
Now, granted, while the water was definitely receding and trying to take me with it I just kept my finger down on the shutter hoping I wasn't gonna fall over and then hoping that one of the frames captured was going to be usable.
I'm so thrilled that this picture was there in the bunch. The pull of that water I think really helped to bring this scene together and capturing that lovely soft light on the rock face just totally makes this so worth the effort.
Namibian Sunrise
This picture is as simple as landscape photography gets. It's super minimal and it encapsulates what it was like to be in the desert of Namibia.
With all these incredible petrified trees in the area, it was screaming “Capture this image”. I was ever so slightly turned to the left of this scene, and we had a vague idea of where the sun was going to come up. Needless to say, as the sun was rising it didn’t come up where we expected and it moved so fast, I was in panic mode!
I absolutely loved the result of this picture. Like I say, it's so so minimal and so simple. I'm really happy with it! It was just one frame captured, there was no exposure blending. I wanted to try and keep it as simple as possible and because we are looking straight at the ball rising over the sand dunes, naturally, there isn’t any detail captured on the front face of this tree.
Light and shadow in the desert
One of the things that I was most excited about Namibia was capturing abstract contrast in the sand dunes, and I think that's what I love about this image. I do have other images that I intend to share on Instagram so be sure to head over there and give follow if you would like to see more.
This for me encapsulates that idea of that minimalist contrast. There are no discerning features, it's just light and shadow. Editing, I just boosted the contrast and very slight local adjustments to contrast.
I am thrilled with how this image turned out and I really love this idea of formless contrast.
If you would like to see more from behind the lens you can read more below.
Take it easy, cheers
