Twisted forest photography with Adam Gibbs: Using light to find a composition amongst the clutter

 

 

Landscape photographer Adam Gibbs recently visited the Isle of Mull in Scotland. This location is distinct for its woodland, which features many twisted oak trees and mossy boulders. While very interesting to look at, the trees pose challenges when trying to make a nice images. In the video below, we go on location with Gibbs and follow along as he works with the light and trees to make compelling compositions.

With the sun setting and light fading fast, Gibbs settled on a backlit scene featuring two foreground oak trees, a third tree in the background and some deadfall around the trees and boulders. He shot using a Nikon D850 full-frame DSLR and a Nikon 24-120mm f/4 zoom lens at 66mm and f/9. He used a circular polarizing filter from Breakthrough Photography as well to reduce reflections and bring out more of the color of the moss and foliage.

The next morning, Gibbs returned to the same twisted oak forest and gave a more in-depth discussion of how to compose when a woodland scene is filled with a lot of different potential subjects. In these cases, he often uses the light to help inform his composition. Join him on the search for photos in the video below.

To see more of Adam Gibbs' videos from the field, head to his YouTube channel. To view more of his photographs, be sure to check out his website.

(Via Adam Gibbs)