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FIGURE 5-1 The Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Star Dune, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

5 The Art and Science of Composing Compelling Images

Great landscape photography begins with a strong emotional reaction to the scene. Raw emotion by itself, however, is not sufficient to create a compelling photograph. With that emotion as the foundation, you now face the challenge of composing a photograph that will generate the same feelings in your viewer.

Don’t let the word composition intimidate you. And don’t be put off by the legions of dry, theoretical books that have been written on the subject. As Edward Weston once said, “To consult the ...

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