Wonderful rural landscapes
If you like classic British countryside, the freshness of spring, combined with clear, directional light, means it’s the ideal time to shoot rural landscapes
5 WILD FLOWER FRAMES
The months of March, April and May are well known for wild flowers. Look out for primroses, daisies, cow parsley and gorse, among many other species growing in open countryside. These flowers all make excellent subjects if you shoot them with a macro lens, but can also make excellent foreground interest for wider views of the landscape. Get in close with a wide angle lens and fill the bottom of the frame with the flowers. With your Nikon in Aperture Priority (A) or Manual (M) exposure mode, select a small aperture such as f/16. To maximize depth of field, focus at double the distance of the nearest object in the frame you want to be sharp. e.g. if the nearest object is 1.5 metres from the camera, focus three metres into the scene.
6 RIVERS AND WATERFALLS
Spring can be a wet season, which means that it’s often a great time to shoot water. Lakes, rivers and ponds will be full, so on a still day you can maximize the potential for reflections. Arrive first thing, when conditions tend to be less windy and there is the potential for a little mist to add some atmosphere. If rivers are full, waterfalls will be flowing fast, giving you the chance to get creative with exposures. Use a neutral density filter to extend shutter speeds and capture a sense of motion as the water cascades over rocks. Cow parsley often grows on river banks, and you can also use this as a natural frame for the view beyond.
7 ROLLING HILLS
Think of the countryside, and green, rolling hills spring to mind. In spring, with the grass fresh and green, and newly-planted crops in fields, this sort of landscape looks its best. Get up early or head out towards the end of the day, go into the hills and
Look out for cow parsley, primroses, daisies and gorse, among many other species growing in open countryside
shoot them with low side lighting; this reveals their shapes and texture and the alternating bands of light and dark create a layered look. Use a moderate telephoto – such as the Nikon 70-200mm f/4 G ED VR or Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S for mirrorless cameras – to compress the perspective and increase the layering effect. Early in the day, the effect can be enhanced by a little bit of mist. If shooting at longer focal lengths, you’ll need a sturdy tripod and a remote release to trigger the shutter, such as the MC-DC2 or MC-22/A, depending on your camera.
A polarizing filter can also be useful for reducing haze and adding ‘punch’ to images. To reduce camera shake in windy conditions, increase your ISO so you can set a faster shutter speed and activate Image Stabilization on your lens (or use in-camera stabilization, if you have a Z-series Nikon).
8 Fields of oilseed rape
One of the great sights in the spring countryside is a sea of yellow as oilseed rape ripens. These fields look stunning under a blue sky with white clouds. Shoot from a distance, using a longer lens to compress the scene and isolate patches of colour, or you can get in closer with a wide-angle lens to exaggerate the expanse of yellow. If you get close, check you have legal access via a public footpath and avoid causing damage. Look for natural focal points, such as trees or barns in the field. A shallow depth of field will leave the foreground out of focus as a blur of yellow, with a background focal point being sharp. Select Aperture Priority mode (‘A’ on your Nikon’s exposure mode dial) and set the widest aperture on your lens. Use polarizer to boost the yellows and deepen the blue of the sky.