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few landscapes have the ability to evoke such strong emotional responses as mountains in this video i hope to explain my own approach to photographing mountain landscapes from planning my photography trips in mountainous areas to how i approach compositions depending on the light and weather conditions and the equipment i choose to take with me when heading into the mountains rather than providing just another list of top tips on how to photograph mountains i hope that this video will provide more of an insight into my personal connection with these landscapes and perhaps there'll be a few useful things that you'll be able to bring to your own photography when visiting these areas as well mountains can be beautiful but they can also seem intimidating many they represent an environment where humans are not meant to be for me as a landscape photographer it is this combination of aesthetic beauty coupled with an element of danger that makes these landscapes so appealing mountains can have their own sense of character even personalities they carry a sense of detachment from the everyday a sense of grandeur of extreme age and other worldliness having grown up in the far northwest of scotland i've always felt at home among the mountains and in particular it was my relationship with the landscapes of northwest sutherland and ascent that first drew me to the outdoors mountain landscapes have always provided a therapeutic refuge for me helping me to put all the stresses and pressures of everyday life into perspective for me spending time in these landscapes and attempting to capture the feeling of all that they inspire me remains the biggest pleasure in landscape photography as with all forms of landscape photography perhaps the most important two factors in creating an image are light and weather as landscape photographers we usually bang on about how the best light for photography is found during the golden hours around sunrise and sunset over blue hour when the sun is just below the horizon of course this is largely still the case when photographing mountains however there are times when conditions can work well if not better outside for golden hours my favorite time to photograph mountain scenes is sunrise being higher than the surrounding landscape the peaks of mountains are the first to be illuminated by the sun at the start of the day and the last to lose the light at the end of a day i find that i feel under less time pressure when photographing at sunrise and i like to be in position and ready well before the sun comes up if possible there really is nothing better than sitting preferably with a warm cup of coffee waiting for the first light of day to strike for mountaintops as the sun sits lower in the sky the light has more atmosphere to pass through and as such it is given a unique softer quality at these times of day when coupled with high clouds this can make for some truly spectacular and colorful images broken cloud often works best with gaps in the cloud allowing light food to illuminate the higher clouds often turning from a vivid shade of pink however even in poor weather and heavy cloud you can often be rewarded for perseverance at this time of day great example of this was from our trip to mount cook national park in new zealand as you all know if you've seen our video from this trip we had extremely bad weather for the whole weekend we were there on our first morning before sunrise there was extremely heavy cloud cover and the tops of the mountains were obscured however just as the sun rose it found a small gap in the clouds on the horizon and for a few minutes whilst it was low enough a of light burst through illuminating the bottom of a cloud cover with a spectacular pink colour as the sun rose the pink turned to gold and coupled with falling rain created a huge amount of atmosphere in the scene it would not have been there if weather had been good the light only lasted a few minutes but i managed to fire off multiple shots before it disappeared into the gloom again these times can often be frantic but also extremely exciting and on this occasion resulted in some of my favorite images from our trip to new zealand sunset shares many of the same qualities as sunrise although the haze that has accumulated during the day can often make your images appear softer this can be a benefit or a hindrance depending on the shots that you are after i particularly find that with telephoto images the clearer air at the start of the day can often work better i also find that i am less able to relax at sunsets as it's often a frantic race to take images before the light fades my preference at sunrise or sunset is to photograph away from or at an angle from the direction of the sun itself shooting into the sun however can be used to create silhouettes of mountains exposure bracketing is often required in these situations especially if the sun is to appear in shot itself i often find that poor weather can lead to some of the best images in mountainous areas mountain scenes can be transformed by clouds and gaps in the cloud can yield some truly dramatic shots i have a particular love for photographing sun rays which occur whether light from the sun escapes through gaps in the cloud often these scenes can be made even more dramatic by falling rain it can sometimes be a challenge to photograph in these conditions but the rewards are often worth the trouble i usually find that the best approach when photographing in mountainous scenes is to stay flexible and react to changing conditions rather than being fixed on the idea of photographing a particular scene a classic example where being flexible enabled me to capture a great image occurred when we had been climbing the hill opposite the famous bucal et of moore perhaps one of the most photographed views in the uk when looking back up the valley towards glen cove the light started to burst through the clouds behind us turning away from the classic view i decided to photograph up the valley and this image i think was probably the best from that hike similarly when we hiked to lac blanc in the french alps i had specifically been after the famous panoramic view of mont blanc massif reflected in the lake however on our visit for weather sadly didn't play ball and the mountains were obscured switching to a telephoto lens however and zooming in on the peaks across the valley it was still possible to make most of the conditioners and i came away with some images i feel made the whole trip worthwhile often being in the best location in the mountains at sunrise or sunset is not possible or practical especially if the location is remote and you are unable to camp which we will come on to later however this does not mean that you can't still achieve great shots in the middle of the day in the middle of the day black and white images can work extremely well such as this image of mont blanc which was taken around lunch time from the grilled midi in this case the sky was clear above the mountain so i used a polarizing filter to darken the sky on cloudy days as well the odd break and cloud in the middle of the day can result in some dramatic lighting conditions creating some truly spectacular images this image of arcol for example was taken in the early afternoon you should not feel confined to black and white images in the middle of the day however when there are a few small breaks in the cloud cover this can lead to some really interesting lighting conditions creating contrasting areas of light and shadow that play across the mountains there's also always the chance of a rainbow the same compositional rules such as the rule of thirds and the golden ratio play as much of a role in mountain photography as in all other forms of photography in addition i like to look out for triangles and compositions and of course given their shape many mountains work well in this way i always look to include three points of reference in an image if possible giving multiple points to draw the interest of a viewer within the image and maintain their interest triangles work well in this respect and many of my favorite compositions will contain multiple triangular shapes either obviously or subtly but will lead the viewer's eye around the image as with most landscape photography i will generally shoot mountain scenes at the lowest iso that's iso 100 on my camera to minimize noise in the images and provide best image quality most images will be taken around f11 to provide the best balance of depth of field and sharpness although with telephoto images it will normally drop fist f8 as depth of field is less of an issue when planning mountain trips it often pays to keep in mind some flexibility depending on the conditions that you are presented with on the day this can be hard when planning trips well in advance but even short-term weather forecasts can get things wrong and conditions can be extremely unpredictable with mountain ranges giving rise to their own local weather systems that can make things even more unpredictable when checking weather i tend to use apps such as clear outside which provide information on cloud cover at different heights which is invaluable information when planning mountain shoots in addition i'll check local mountain weather forecasts and make sure that there are no weather warnings for the area that i'll be visiting when planning shoots in a new location i start by looking for inspiration for specific locations online and try to work out using google maps with the best locations where photography might be i'll then work out what time of day would be best to photograph a location remember to take into consideration the direction of a sunset or sunrise and this is where apps such as photographers ephemeris photo pills can come in handy from a safety point of view it's always important to be prepared for all eventualities especially if you are hiking in the mountains make sure you have warm clothes with you and waterproofs even if rain has not been forecast it's also important to take compass and a map and know how to use them don't rely on phones as batteries and signal will often fail you when they are needed most i always take a gps with me but similarly i make sure i have a compass in case the batteries fail always tell someone where you are heading and when you plan to return and even better take someone with you if you can of course not everyone is able to hike up to the top of a mountain with kilograms of photography equipment but that doesn't mean there aren't still opportunities to take impressive mountain images from accessible locations the image i showed of mont blanc earlier for example was taken from the peak of the aguila de midi accessed via a cable car i've often stopped to photograph mountain views from lay-bys or dedicated viewpoints these locations a telephoto lens can really help to zoom into the scene and create epic images without the need for extreme hiking the best way to ensure that you're at the best location for photography at the best time of day is to camp whilst camping isn't for everyone for me it really is an integral part of my photography by camping you no longer need to worry about climbing or descending a mountain in the dark you can just relax with a cup of coffee and watch the sunrise or set from what feels like the top of a world with the entire place to yourself and with plenty of time to think about compositions in the uk wild camping is permitted throughout most of scotland and on certain areas of dark form it is tolerated in some locations in snowdonia and the lake district but wherever you camp it's vital that you leave no trace pitch your tent as late as possible and strike it as early as you can to create as minimal disturbance as possible and of course don't light fires or leave any litter at all behind when i'm camping or even when just hiking a long distance my main concern is weight and i take as minimal equipment as possible when it comes to cameras my own preference is full frame and with new mirrorless systems it's now possible to have full frame cameras without the weight of dslrs however weight is often a major consideration particularly if you're hiking long distance and for this reason aps-c or micro four-thirds can also make life a lot easier for you ultimately if carrying heavy gear is going to prevent you from being able to get the best locations in the best light it doesn't matter how good the camera is and these days all cameras are capable of taking great images so choose the camera that suits your own needs best personally i like to have a tripod with me as this enables me to use longer exposures and keep my eye so low to reduce noise in my images particularly useful in lower light situations having said that if you are climbing a large tripod will quickly become a hindrance my preference is to take a small light carbon fiber tripod like my benro carbon fiber slim this tripod only weighs 1.1 kilograms it's important to be aware that when fully extended these smaller tripods can be quite unstable so to combat this i'll normally keep the tripod set low with legs splayed out lower this particular tripod also has a hook that you can hang your bag on to add weight and increase stability if needed having said that often the best mountain images result from reacting quickly to changing light conditions and in these situations having to set up a tripod can be a hindrance don't be afraid therefore to take handheld images and increase the iso if you need to particularly with new mirrorless cameras with in-body stabilization you can often get away without having to use a tripod at all when it comes to lenses i prefer longer focal lengths in the mountains than wide angles wider angle lenses will emphasize your foreground and make more distant objects such as mountains appear smaller this can work well if you have an interesting foreground but my preference in mountain photography is to go for longer focal lengths something like a 70 to 200 can therefore be ideal and i have taken many mountain images actually using a 400 millimeter telephoto lens however my personal favorite lens for most of my photography in the mountains is for 24 to 105 millimeter if i'm hiking long distances or camping my preferences to save as much weight as possible and i'll frequently just take this one lens with me 24 millimeter is as wide as i usually need and i can always opt for stitched panoramics if i need to go wider get the extra range up to 105 millimeters often comes in handy and i therefore prefer it as a more general lens to something like a 24 to 70. when it comes to filters these days my filter selection is limited to a polarizer s6 stop and a 10 stop filter i don't use any graduated filters very often as i usually find that exposure blending works better especially in mountainous regions where the horizon tends to be uneven having said that i rarely use nd filters in the mountains unless i'm photographing water the polarizing filter however is invaluable and i'll use it in almost all of my mountain images it helps to create more definition and contrast in clouds darken blue skies and will also cut through glare from wet rocks or snow i've been lucky enough to visit and photograph some of the most dramatic and beautiful mountain landscapes in the world from montblanc and the french alps to the southern alps of new zealand and from the glaciers of iceland to the granite spires of corsica here in the uk our mountains may be relatively small but they can still be dramatic and in my opinion we have some of the finest mountain landscapes right on our doorstep from the dramatic peaks of western scotland the lake district and snowdonia to the softer slopes of the ken gorman's plateau and the dragon beacons we have a huge variety of mountainous landscapes within a relatively small geographical area and plenty of locations to explore and photograph for me however my favorite mountains have to be those north west of scotland these are the mountains that i grew up with and when driving north to my old home the sight of these mountains coming into view always makes me feel like i'm home again for me mountains are without doubt my favorite subject to photograph and invariably when i think of landscape photography as a genre it's really mountain photography that i think of first but by no means be all and end all however when it comes to landscape photography for me over the next few videos i'll be looking at some of the other genres i love most including seascapes and woodlands and i can't wait to share my approach to photographing these landscapes with you as well you