Why take landscape photographs?

To me, landscape photography is part of a natural progression of my

spiritual connection to nature. When I'm out in nature alone, I feel

that I am part of it and I feel at peace with everything around me.

By photographing what I see, I am able to more easily recall those

moments when I was so in awe of my surroundings. Also, it provides

me with a way by which I can share what I see with others. A

secondary motive for me is environmental. I very strongly believe

that photographs can go a long way in helping to preserve the natural

world. A photograph can show the beauty in nature to someone who

would not otherwise see it. With each additional person we can get

to see the beauty in nature, our chances of getting to change things

for the better improve.

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Why do I shoot landscapes with <i>large</i> format? I could just as

easily shoot it with 35mm or medium format. In fact, I love my

Nikons and Mamiya and shoot with them whenever I can. However, the

view camera simply fits the way I think when shooting landscapes

better than any SLR ever could. Strange how the simplest technology

can help you realize your vision more easily than some computer-

crammed piece of wizardry like today's AF SLRs.

"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a

camera."

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--- Dorothea Lange

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That says it better than I ever could.

Thank you all for your various and thoughtful responses. I agree

with you all in what you have stated. I've been interested in the

landscape as a photographic subject since I had my first camera. I

am always seeking new ways of approaching and interpreting this

subject and that was why I asked for your input. It heartens me to

hear so many are interested, as I sometimes feel landscape

photography may not get the respect it fully deserves. I suppose as

an alternative perspective I could have asked those who are not

interested in landscape photography, why not?

Best Regards,

Saulius

I take landscape photos because I like being outside. If I can't be

outside, it is nice to look at the wall and see a little slice of the

outside. I could easily buy images of other photographers but I find

my own prints to be far more personal. For example, I recently moved

to Nova Scotia from Windsor, Ontario. When I worked there, I had a

view of the Ambassador Bridge from my office window. Now, when I

wake up in the morning, I have a picture of the bridge above my

bedside table.

Even though posting time is probably over I can't resist sharing some

thoughts that I was surprised not to have found already.

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Fascination! God's creation is boundless! I can't get to the end of

it! I never tire of the endless discovery of some new facet of His

creation. From the Bristlecone pines at 11,500 feet to the barren

waste at -386 feet just a few miles apart, and everything in-between

there is always some new beauty to discover. Sometimes the discovery

is so fast paced I don't have time to take a picture. Gotta see

what's around the next bend.

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Limits. Yes I realize my own limitation of sight. Think about it.

Even with perfect vision (which I never enjoyed) we only focus clearly

on a very narrow angle. We don't think about it but all but about 5

or 10 degrees of the 60 we can see with our eyes are blurry. And we

can't train them to stay very long in one place.

Ahhhh..............but a camera lens. A good lens can lock down so

much information! Then I can get my face up as close as I want to a

print, and savor each detail as long as I please. And it's ALL in

focus (well at least other peoples pictures are.)

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Finally, I believe God the Creator put a little bit of His

creativeness in each of us! It pleasures me to try to be a mirror.

To reflect a 16 X 20" piece of His creation that shouts "LOOK WHAT HE

MADE" Jim Galli

99.98% of the humans on Earth couldn't give a damn. That's a big

reason to photograph landscapes....to provide reminders of what God's

creation looked like before the airports and porn stores were build

by God's ultimate creation -- mankind.

I have been lying at home for the last three months in a hospital bed

recouperating from a severely broken leg and all my photos of the

West and Southwest hanging on my den walls bring a hope that I will

be back photographing this beautiful world God created. I have found

the beauty in lily ponds on the side of the interstate to the

majestic Rockies. It gives me great satisfaction to try to capture

and show the beauty of this world. Also, looking at the world

upsidedown is a wonderful perspective of life. Happy shooting, Pat.

I love the new word Mario has invented -- he says he was "bewatched"

by an Ansel Adams picture. Perhaps we are all bewatched by the

landscape.

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I agree with Edward -- I make landscape pictures as an excuse to be

outside.

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It's as simple as that, or as deeply felt as this: I yearn for places

where I cannot live. The only way I can "possess" them is through

photography.

Everything has been said (nicely!) and I can identify with everything. It's nice to know there is a bunch of guys who

feel and think like you out there!

I just love the whole process of photography (landscapes in

particular). Go into my own world, observe, feel, smell, sett up

gears, spot-metering, wait, release the shutter, process, print,

etc.. More often, without making a single picture and going home

empty-handed. The view camera really slows me down, allows me to make

more thoughtful pictures (90 per cent failure, still).

I live in a city (with limited nature reserves) and people must have

thought what a fool I am wasting precious time. No money and no

credit. But to me, it's just a joy to be out there with nature. Hope

the world would just freeze for a long, long time.

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Aaron

"Because it (the landscape) is there."

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Note: this is a paraphrase of Edmund Hillary, not Captain Kirk (as

someone I know assumed).

I got hooked on medium format landscape photography when I found

myself relaxing for a change. With the point and shoot camera I used

previously there's no way I would have found out what photography

REALLY is. I just hope they'll keep making ilfochrome and velvia for

a long time......"They" can keep the digital stuff....