Image & text: Sherri McEwen

When it comes to landscape photography, one easily forgotten aspect is a straight horizon. You take photos of a scene, later realizing that your horizon is slightly crooked.

At other times, you may photograph a scene in which the horizon is not clearly visible. In these situations, you can still use a point to bring a straight line and balance to your photo. You can focus on a shoreline, for instance, insuring that the shoreline runs a smooth horizontal line across your image.

One thing that I also find to be important is to have an overall balance of "opposites" within your frame. A nice balance of light and dark areas, as well as colour and neutral tones. For example, if you were shooting a field with dense trees in the background, keep the line where the field meets the trees straight and visually place the trees in such a way that you have two larger trees framing your image. By playing with this, it is amazing how a little shift in your field of vision can improve a photo.

All in all, photography is an art. Wherever you go, take note of what is around you. There is art in everything, especially in nature. Sometimes it can be the way two trees have fallen on one another, creating a "sculpture of nature." Sometimes it can be the way the light hits the fog, creating a mood of both mystery and light. Have fun and keep your eyes and mind open to the wonders around you.