One of my fellow bloggers, Lyle Krahn, asked me to take some landscape shots to give readers a better idea of the scenery at the marsh at Huntley Meadows Park, where I have been shooting a lot of my nature photographs.
I don’t have a lot of experience taking landscape-style photos, but I did try to step back this morning and shoot some photos of one of the water areas in the park, where I often see geese and ducks taking off and landing. I took this photo just after the sun had risen today, the day of the winter solstice. In the background of the photo you can see part of a field of cattails, through which a boardwalk runs. There is also a large wooded area of the park and an area with a beaver lodge and pond. It’s pretty amazing to have such a treasure in the midst of a suburban area.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Thanks for the view. That is quite a treasure in a suburban area.
You are indeed lucky to have such a place. I don’t think there is any big secret to landscape photography. If what you see pleases you there is a great chance that it will please someone else.
I like your approach (and it’s the one that I usually use). If I like it, I’ll post it. Still, there tend to be some general rules for landscapes, like having something in the foreground, etc. that are good to follow. I’m so used to looking very closely at the details that it’s hard for me to pull back and try to capture the sense of a place (sometimes I think I need a 360 degree camera).
You are very fortunate to have a natural oasis like Huntley Meadows within an area as populated as Fairfax County. I lived for many years in Southern Maryland and worked in Alexandria. Huntley is a beautiful refuge from civilization.
There are so many places in the DC area to take pictures of nature (plus all of the monuments and museums). For me Huntley Meadows is best in the early morning, before it gets too crowded. Even when you are surrounded by natural beauty, it’s hard not to feel irritated with all of the people who feel it necessary to carry on loud conversations on their cell phones.
I an envious of your more temperate climate. Everything is frozen around here, and that certainly limits what you can see. I am not familiar with the DC area at all and am impressed that there are such good natural areas in the metro area. Someone had some foresight I guess.
Thanks for all of your encouragement, Sue. We definitely have a more temperate climate, though occasionally we get walloped with a big snow storm. Because of the novelty of snow here, I am hoping we will get a little. I have thoughts and hopes of bird photos against a white backdrop.