1. Preparation

Preparation is the key to any success. In terms of photographing your lakescape, there are two elements of preparation. First, you need to get to know your subject, your lakescape, very well. Second, you will always need to have a camera ready for capturing that once-in-a-lifetime image.

Be sure to take a thorough walk around your lake area, as well as around the entire lake itself. The best way to sink a putt from 15 feet is to see the hole from several perspectives, and the best way to capture the optimal image of your lakescape is to see it from several angles. Be sure to make every attempt to see the same lakescape from several angles and at several times of day.

The beauty of nature is that it is often unnoticed by each of us and changing every minute of every day, year after year. Preparation calls for becoming much more acquainted with your subject: your lakescape.

Be sure to have a camera ready — with available film and fresh batteries — so that you can capture those images at a moment’s notice.There is nothing worse than pointing a camera at a scene to find out that you don’t have any film left or your batteries have died. If you are going to watch a sunset or sunrise, bring your camera. If you are going out on the lake in a boat, take your camera. If you are sitting on your dock with family, take your camera. Preparation means to be ready, because nature waits for no one.

2. Equipment

There can be several decisions to make concerning the appropriate equipment for lakescape photography. Choices range from a simple “instamatic” camera to a high-end 35mm camera with special filters, to a midrange, digital camera.The most important factor in your decision will be your particular preference.

Have you taken lakescape photos in the past? If so, do they look grainy? Do you often wish that they had greater resolution? Have you tried to enlarge a wonderful 4x6 image only to find that it blurred considerably during the enlarging stage? Or are you simply satisfied with the images you have captured? These questions will guide you toward the equipment that may be most suitable for you.

First, you need to be comfortable with your photographic equipment.There is nothing more painful than to watch someone purchase a high-end camera, be afraid to use it and set it on the top shelf in a closet. Be sure to have photographic equipment that you can and like to use. And if you are looking to upgrade, first experiment with a friend's or family member’s camera that is the upgrade for which you are searching.

Second, one of the most important factors involved in lakescape photography is resolution.This factor is also one of the key factors in the varying cost of cameras. Over the past five years, I have transitioned from solely using a 35mm camera — more specifically, a Canon Rebel 2000 — to switching between a 35mm and a digital camera. My personal digital camera preference is the Olympus C-3000 Zoom with 3.3-megapixel resolution. If you are not overly concerned with highend resolution, any 1- or 2-megapixel digital camera will work for you. If you are looking to submit your images for publication, you will want to use a digital camera with at least a 3-megapixel resolution.The greatest advantage of digital cameras is that you can download, edit and delete your images immediately. This will allow you to feel free to take several photos of the same lakescape to ensure you obtain that one perfect image.

3. Repetition

My father would often say,“If you want a wonderful idea, have a million ideas from which to choose.” If you want to capture that one-ina- million image of your lakescape, then you need to take at least one million images.Again, a digital camera, which has become much more affordable over the past two years, will allow you the freedom to capture many more photos without draining your bank account.

Take several pictures from several angles over and over again. If there is a particular angle or view that you enjoy photographing, do so but be sure to try that same angle and view at different times of the day and during different seasons. In these images, you will begin to see the dynamically changing nature of nature.

Identify those elements of your lakescape that bring out its uniqueness. Is it a particular tree, a rocky shoreline, a view toward a particular sunrise or sunset? Be sure to capitalize on this uniqueness so that your children and grandchildren will remember well the wonder of your lakescape.

4. Personal Expression

There is no substitute for personal expression. Only you, behind your camera, can see and capture the scene for which you are searching. Remember all the wonderful memories over the years that you have had in the particular scene you are photographing and try to bring out all the emotion in that one photograph. As many as your wonderful memories, so must be the photographs you take.

The right preparation, the right camera and the right repetition will get you only so close to your perfect photograph.The rest will rely on your own personal expression. My father would often encourage me, "Find your passion, then fuel and feed that passion." Find the passion in your lakescape photography and then fuel and feed it with the right preparation, camera and repetition. Nature is the source of all artistic expression, so allow that nature to help you bring out the beauty of your lakescape through your photography.

By Lee Hoedl