When people look at the imagery produced today it will surely not be with the same viewpoint we have today. The world is ever changing and the landscapes we love to photograph will likely appear very different.
When starting out shooting landscapes it is easy to get lost in the noise of it all. You can make a lot of progress in the technical side of photography, but the images you shoot start to lose a sense of originality, inspiration, and feeling like they are your own.
When starting out in landscape photography it is easy to get caught up in the middle of it. What I mean by that is many start out looking to document what has been tried and done again and again. Looking at other’s work and replicating what you see online and in galleries.
When it comes to creating fine art there is something innately special about a piece to qualify initially. Beyond being just beautiful there is another important part of creating valuable art today. In a world where images are shared all the time and can be reproduced an infinite number of times there is something even more special about a limited availability.
Should landscape photography be in galleries or on your wall? There are some important distinctions to be made when it comes to what type of landscape photography art you are looking for or works well in a gallery setting. I think this boils down to your response to it fitting in one of three categories.
When I started photography it seemed like a very extroverted thing to do. I am going out into the world to capture images and then I am sharing those images with everyone else. I am putting myself out there to build a reputation or personal brand through photography after all which requires being an extrovert. Right?
Photography has been around for well over 150 years now. It has been through a lot of different phases being utilized for mainly documenting purposes, a way of generating images of people quicker than a portrait painter, and for catching your favorite celebrities on the streets. It is fairly easy to say landscape photography is a form of art, but a deeper questioning into its value is to wonder if it holds up as fine art.
As a landscape photographer I love to get out into nature and capture its beauty. I then enjoy editing the image once home to fit my vision of how it looked. Sharing those moments I capture is something that comes naturally to me as a third part to the creative process.
When you go out to photograph a location it is a good idea to have an image pre-visualized. Knowing what you are getting into with your camera is a good way of establishing some level of success before you arrive on location. While there is never a guarantee of a good image there are ways of increasing your odds of success.