Deal with harsh light
Summer can mean difficult conditions, but stunning shots are still possible.
The reason most photographers don’t like summer is because the quality of light is generally less photogenic than other seasons. The Sun rises quickly and gets high in the sky, meaning harsh shadows and little textural relief. There is more atmospheric haze, which can result in the landscape appearing flat and washed out.
The day length makes things tricky, too. Let’s face it, getting on location in time to set up for sunrise is a real effort and staying out for sunset will get in the way of family life. While it’s definitely worth making the effort once in a while, there are ways of creating successful landscape images in the less photogenic times of day when the light is harsher. Shooting monochrome is one option. Harsher, more contrasty light can suit black and white images and the focus falls more on the fundamentals of composition: shape, line, texture and contrast. Look for bold, graphic compositions with a full range of tones from a pure white to a true black. An ‘active’ sky full of texture also works well with mono landscapes. If you struggle to visualise which scenes will work well in black and white, use live view and a monochrome picture style to help you choose.
A natural extension of monochrome is infrared photography. Harsh, contrasty light is ideal, with blue skies recorded as deep black, contrasting dramatically with bright, white clouds, and foliage becomes a ghostly white, giving images an other-worldly look. And the great thing is, the stronger the sunlight, the stronger the effect.
Digital cameras have an infrared blocking filter over the sensor so for best results, shoot with a camera which has been converted. However, you can experiment with infrared by fitting an infrared filter such as the Hoya R72. This blocks light from the visible spectrum, leaving only infrared light to reach the sensor. Long exposures are needed and some cameras give better results than others.