Explore Landscapes #100

A look back at my 10 favorite posts from the first 100 ... and what I've learnt along the way.

What have I learnt from my first 100 posts on Substack? A few things spring to mind.

Firstly, I enjoy writing and then sharing what I write. I find it calming, cathartic and fulfilling, to create my posts, combining my words and images, and teaching others about landscape photography.

Secondly, I find it difficult to regularly release posts. I had hoped to be more consistent than I was in practice. It’s taken me 190 weeks (crikey!) to publish 100 posts, when my original goal was to publish twice a week. I intend to correct that tardiness for my future posts, and publish a minimum of one post per week.

Thirdly, I have been amazed and grateful for the level of support that my writings and images have received. I deeply appreciate everyone who has commented, liked, and in particular, subscribed to my little corner of Substack. Thank-you!

My Favorite Ten Posts from the First Hundred

Here are my favorite ten posts from the first hundred - and why they stand-out for me as my favorites.

Trust Your Histogram

In my photography journey over the past 40 years, there’s one single learning ‘event’ that made the most significant step-change in my understanding and practice of photography, ‘Trusting my Histogram’.

When Helen (a photo workshop instructor) explained what those 3 words meant in practice back in 2011, all of my confusion over exposure settings evaporated, and I found a clarity that was missing before then.

A stormy day in Joshua Tree © 2023 Jon Norris

Giving Myself Time

I had a sudden reckoning with how precious life is when I was diagnosed in the emergency room with a blood clot that built up in my left leg. One week later I was back in the emergency room as the clot had shifted to my lungs, and the resulting pulmonary embolism was putting considerable back pressure on my heart. I can clearly remember sitting up on the hospital bed thinking to myself I’m not ready to go yet, I’ve got so much more I want to do.

Curves, bricks, and cobbles - Hamburger Fischmarkt | © 2008 Jon Norris

Composition is a feeling … sometimes!

Many of my favorite posts are those that are centered on my landscape photography teaching. I find teaching hugely rewarding, as I enjoy seeing others learning new (to them) techniques and putting them into practice. Also, in teaching I’ve been able to reinforce my own understanding of those techniques and be able to articulate them clearly. One such technique (or collection of techniques, rules, tips etc) is composition, which I’ve written about a couple of times (the second article is a few articles down).

Light and Exposure

In combination with the previous topic, composition, light and exposure, are the three factors that make or break an image. Not even the latest and greatest camera, will take a ‘good photo’ if you don’t make the most of the light, expose well for that light, and nail your composition. The resulting image will be lacking.

Making the Move to Manual

Another key step (for me at least) in improving my photography was to make the move to manual. Shooting in manual makes you much more aware of what you’re asking the camera to do when it takes an image. It puts you in the driving seat, rather than hoping that the camera will figure out your photographic intent.

Many People Look But Only A Few See, Pennine Way (UK) | © 2019 Jon Norris

Guide to Landscape Photography Composition

This is the second of my articles on composition which lays out some techniques, or ideas (I don’t want to say rules).

An exposure bracketed image of the Belt of Venus at Quail Springs, Joshua Tree National Park (CA) | © 2021 Jon Norris

How to Use Exposure Bracketing

For me, exposure bracketing is an essential landscape photography technique that I use frequently. I love to witness the ‘aha’ moment when students get to grips with exposure bracketing and see how much it ‘brings’ to their images.

Searching for Garrett’s Arch

As well as my photography technique posts I enjoy sharing some words and images that describe some of my ‘adventures’ in Joshua Tree National Park (or elsewhere). My search for Garretts Arch was one such adventure which I enjoyed sharing.

Pinto Mountain from the Sand Dune | © 2025 Jon Norris

Silence. Solitude. Space.

In our fast-paced, always connected world, I need to have a regular dose of silence, solitude, and space. I get that dose in my happy place, the wide open wilderness of Joshua Tree National Park.

Twisted Pinyon Pine, Joshua Tree National Park | © 2019 Jon Norris

Capturing Timeless Drama: Black & White Landscape Photography in Joshua Tree National Park

I enjoyed this post as it gave me an excuse to review my black and white images and then ‘wrap’ a description of how I approach black and white photography around them.

Going Forward

So what’s my plan now? I’m going to continue sharing a mix of what makes me happy and what makes me tick.

That will be a combination of landscape photography techniques and tips blended with my hiking, backpacking, and volunteering adventures in the National and State Parks of California, and further afield.

I have a long list of ideas for posts. The challenge is carving out time to get them down on ‘paper’. One thing I’m determined to do is to get into the habit of having a few posts ready for publishing, rather than the current ‘pressure’ of writing something on release day. This isn’t a good way to work - but it does give one focus!

Thanks for sticking with me and please do let me know if there’s a specific photography topic that you’d like me to cover.

My First 100 Posts on Substack ... and what I've learnt (so far!)

Preparing for a Landscape Photography Trip: From Research to Ready‑for‑Anything Gear