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Dave Morrow Photography

MASTER LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY & HIKING | EXPERT INSTRUCTION

Master Landscape Photography: All My Guides & Videos – 15 Years as a Pro [2026]

This page distills all my knowledge from 15 years as a full-time landscape photographer who has hiked over 22,000 miles.

These aren’t standard guides & videos; they are in-depth, step-by-step systems, battle-tested in the wild.

If you want to master landscape photography, this page has it all.

Take your photo trips to the next level & learn ultralight hiking too!

Table of Contents

Why You Will Fail (And How to Succeed)

It took me 3 years to go pro after picking up a camera. 

Most photographers stagnate from information overload.

They learn the wrong skills in the wrong order.

When progress slows, they quit.

In 2015, I left aerospace engineering and built a field-tested photo system that will 10X your learning speed.

I will teach you how to hijack the exact neural habit-loops that drive addiction.

♻️ New Skill ➡️ New Location ➡️ Great Photo ➡️ Dopamine

Once you’re addicted to this process, it’s impossible to quit or stop learning.

My goal is simple: Teach you to improve quickly using a common-sense, repeatable system that creates world-class photos.

Here are the critical traps your brain will trick you into while trying to learn:

Mistake 1: Consuming Without Vetting

Most photographers fail because they blindly trust dozens of YouTubers teaching conflicting techniques.

Before taking advice from anyone—including me—vet your teachers:

  • Do you love their photography?
  • Are they producing the specific results you want?
  • Are they a working photographer, or a content creator selling camera advice?
  • Is their photo portfolio growing quickly with high-quality work?
  • Does their teaching style match your learning style?

For 15 years, I’ve earned my living in the field.

If you don’t like my images, don’t learn from me.

If my work aligns with your goals, this page contains all my knowledge.

Mistake 2: Skipping First Principles

First principles means stripping a system to its basic physics and building up from ground zero.

If you can’t explain a topic simply, you don’t understand it.

Most photographers say, “I’m an artist—I don’t need physics, I just need creativity.”

They have it backwards.

Your camera is not a creative device.

It is a light collector. It operates on pure physics.

Zero creativity required.

Creativity only exists in three places:

  1. Composition
  2. Color Harmony
  3. Lighting

Operating the camera isn’t one of them.

If you are fighting buttons and exposure dials, your brain has zero bandwidth left for art.

Creativity only unlocks when camera operation becomes entirely subconscious.

Most photographers hunt YouTube for “creative hacks,” skip the fundamentals, and stay stuck.

The real secret isn’t flashy: master the mechanics from the ground up until the camera is just an extension of your hands.

This is what I’ll teach you below.

Mistake 3: Relying on Luck, Not Systems

Without an optimized, repeatable photography system, you will fail.

If you’re second-guessing techniques, you have zero mental bandwidth left for creativity.

Are You Relying on Luck or Systems?

  • Have you written down every step in your camera technique?
  • Have you analyzed those steps to purge the non-essential?
  • Have you re-sequenced the essential steps to optimize the flow?

Most photographers don’t.

It demands intense focus.

Relying on luck is much easier.

They like the idea of being world-class, but don’t want to put in the work.

To improve quickly, you must mute the noise and direct 100% of your energy toward one goal: system optimization.

Over 15 years in the field, I optimized my systems out of sheer survival.

If my process failed, I didn’t eat.

I’ve dedicated my life to this craft.

How to Succeed: The 60-Day Challenge

If you’re serious about transforming your photography, give me 60 days.

I’ll teach you everything I know.

Ready to get started?

Step 1: Mute the Noise

For 60 days, unsubscribe from every YouTube channel, turn off alerts, and stop hunting for quick hacks.

Dopamine thrives on singular focus & defined goals.

When the dopamine slows, you get bored, stall out, and quit.

The Pushback: “I’ll miss out on new techniques.”

The Reality: You’re drowning in conflicting advice from creators who prioritize algorithms over fieldwork.

Worst Case: You get two months of mental clarity and zero distraction. If my method fails, you can turn the noise back on and resume slow progress.

Step 2: Master the Mechanics

Master the first-principles guides & videos on this page until camera operation becomes subconscious, not guesswork.

Once technique is automatic, your brain frees up dopamine to fuel creative problem-solving, also known as inspiration.

The Pushback: “I want to be artistic, not technical.”

The Reality: Operating a camera is mechanics. Until it’s subconscious, you have zero bandwidth for art.

Worst Case: You build permanent, effortless camera control, even if you decide to go back to fighting settings later.

Step 3: Use Your Skills in New Locations

Constantly go on trips to new & exciting locations and test your new skills.

New environments trigger a massive dopamine hit that accelerates learning.

♻️ New Skill ➡️ New Location ➡️ Great Photo ➡️ Dopamine

The Pushback: “I prefer to improvise.”

The Reality: Improvisation without a system is relying on luck. Repeatable results require repeatable systems.

Worst Case: You walk away with a field-tested workflow you can steal, strip down, or adapt to your own style.

Step 1: My Photography System

Every skill on this page builds on this foundational photography system.

Don’t waste time trying to master it 100% of the way:

  • 80% is enough for great results.
  • The last 20% is slow. Optimize it later.

Keep your learning loop firing. If it slows, you will quit.

♻️ New Camera Technique ➡️ Field Execution ➡️ 80% Mastery ➡️ Dopamine

After hitting 80%, shift your focus to Composition (next section).

Learn the following skills in order.

PDF: How to Take Landscape Photos – My 5 Step System

PDF: Favorite Photography Gear

PDF: Sharp Focus System

PDF: Exposure Triangle System

PDF: Camera Technique System

PDF: Black & White Photography System

PDF: How to 10X Your Landscape Photography

Step 2: Composition

Composition is the next skill that will improve your photos faster than anything else.

See how this system works?

We knock out the high-yield skills, hit 80% mastery, and use them in brand-new locations.

Fresh scenery fuels new inspiration, and new inspiration creates the ultimate feedback loop:

♻️ Seeing Every Scene Differently ➡️ Unforgettable Images ➡️ Dopamine

Download my 5 Composition Secrets Guide & watch the videos below.

PDF: Color Theory Photo Guide

Step 3: Advanced Focus Toolbox

In this section, you’ll learn how to nail sharp focus in tricky scenarios.

It goes beyond the basics.

If your focus is off, you lose confidence.

The goal is to have a focus technique toolbox that never fails.

This ensures confidence so you keep improving & never quit.

♻️ Sharp Focus ➡️ Zero Doubt ➡️ Improved Confidence ➡️ Dopamine

Download my Sharp Focus Guide to take out shooting with you.

Step 4: Long Exposures & Action

Now I will teach you how to control the emotion of the photo using shutter speed and color.

  • Use longer shutter speeds with cool colors such as purple and blue to give calm emotions to the scene.
  • Use fast shutter speeds with warm colors such as yellow, red, and orange to give high energy to the scene.

You can also use shutter speed to subconsciously move the viewer’s eye to important areas and direct them away from boring ones.

This single skill will take your photos to the next level.

Stacking this skill onto a stable foundation fuels an accelerated feedback loop:

♻️ Shutter Speed Mastery ➡️ Mood & Atmosphere ➡️ Dramatic Photos ➡️ Dopamine

Download my Camera Technique & Shutter Speed Guide to go with the videos.

Step 5: In the Field Vlogs

Now it is time to see how this entire system operates under real pressure in the field.

These videos take you on my favorite trips through some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.

You will watch the complete start-to-finish process of scouting, composing, and capturing final images in real time.

♻️ Real-World Scenarios ➡️ Problem Solving ➡️ World-Class Photos ➡️ Dopamine

Watch the entire playlist on YouTube.

Step 6: Written Guides & PDFs

These guides cover every skill required to take high-level landscape photos.

  • Some are included in the sections above.
  • Find them all in one place below.

Each guide breaks down the first principles behind every technique in written detail.

Download the PDFs and save them directly to your phone.

Use them offline whenever you are out in the field.

Step 7: Gear Optimization

Once your core techniques are dialed, gear becomes critical.

Buy the best photography and hiking gear you can afford.

Invest upfront so you never question if your equipment is holding you back.

Stop watching gear reviews and do not buy new gear for five to ten years.

Channel all of that energy directly into mastering your craft.

Start hiking, backpacking, and taking multi-night trips into the wilderness.

This is the only way to capture unique images and spend all day chasing light.

PDF: Favorite Photography Gear

PDF: Ultralight Hiking: All My Gear & Skills

Step 8: Become Unstoppable

Long-term success is a war of attrition.

The choice is simple.

You must BECOME UNSTOPPABLE

Trust yourself and your gut instinct.

Stop caring what others think.

Adapt to anything.

Do things that terrify you.

No Excuses: Focus on your craft for 2 hours every day.

Delete every action that isn’t essential.

Double down on power multipliers.

Only play exponential games.

Speed and failure are your best friends.

MOST IMPORTANTLY

Never quit until you stop breathing.

If you don’t quit, you can’t lose.

Make a fake enemy inside your head and destroy them daily.

THEY are trying to stop me and sabotage my life’s work.

Not today!

Want real freedom?

Start a business.

Say what you think and don’t back down.

Buy back your time and fund your adventures.

There is never going to be a perfect time to start.

Start anyway.

Do it now!

Build something that delivers extreme value to a small audience.

Sell something for $100 to 1,000 True Fans.

Or $500 to 200 True Fans.

Use this $100,000 to fund your adventures and the next valuable thing you create.

Pour your life into building things that are useful and deliver value to others.

Delete everything else.

Want to learn more? 

Step 9: 10X Learning Speed

The fastest way to master landscape photography is by learning firsthand from someone who has spent over a decade optimizing these skills through trial and error.

Blogs and videos are great for theory, but they cannot replace real-time, field-based instruction.

I offer high-intensity workshops and tours designed for all skill and fitness levels.

In a single 3-day session, I can teach you my entire system—start to finish.

You will receive 1-on-1 feedback in the field that will improve your skills faster than years of self-teaching ever could.

My students often learn more in three days than they have in the previous 20 years on their own.

Stop guessing and start creating portfolio-grade images.

CLICK HERE & SEE MY UPCOMING WORKSHOPS