Could I be a Landscape Photographer?
‘Landscape is not an object that exists but is constructed by our culture and our minds’ Lucius Burckhardt
Up until recently it would have been an emphatic NO to both questions. In the past, I have been continually disappointed, whether it is a lack of suitable equipment or because of technical inability that most attempts at ‘landscape’ photography, for me, results in a mere record shot. Images lack the emotion or feelings that I remember when I saw that scene- the images are bland and unemotional, suffering from a severe lack of inspiration and creativity.
So what actually denotes a landscape photograph? I realised I lacked knowledge and understanding and therefore to identify how I want to take a landscape image I needed to find out more.
I hooked up with my friend Eva Kalpadaki and joined one of her Landscape courses. (https://www.facebook.com/EvaKalpadakiBrightonPhotographyCourses/)
I hoped this was going to push me to creatively interpret the environment, challenge my preconceptions and ultimately discover my own identity as a potential landscape photographer...
I decided to write this blog in conjunction with each session and share the thought processes that I went through.
I found Lucius Beurckhardt's quote particularly interesting ‘Landscape is not an object that exists but is constructed by our culture and our minds’. It unlocked the door and I've dived headfirst into the challenge.
Our choices, our settings, our interpretation changes a VIEW into a LANDSCAPE.
With this in mind here is my interpretation to :
#1
LIGHT AND THE LANDSCAPE
Using the view from my window and a prism in front of the lens to refract the light, I began to play.
The final three images were in my mind the conclusion. The penultimate one is perhaps too obvious - it could be viewed as a straight landscape. The final image however, asks more questions and demands more from the viewer. Ultimately I am really pleased with the outcomes.