Some very nice Landscapes

The new Landscape Photographer of the Year book revealed | Daily Mail Online

Great and it makes me homesick too.

Very nice! I've not been to Wales. It's not the end of the earth, but it's only a short drive away.

The new Landscape Photographer of the Year book revealed | Daily Mail Online

Nice indeed! Thanks for sharing.

I'm not seeing it. And "nice" doesn't quite meet the challenge.

 

Here's what I see. They are stunning photos. In many cases, awesome. And they mostly (actually, all that I looked at) leave me cold. It's as if photographers all with the same notion of natural perfection, a tidy, cleansed, impersonal view of the world, Earth, and its resources got together and said "Let's all take the same picture but of a different natural/landscape subject." The photos must all show magnificence and be magnificent.

 

I don't feel the human connection to the landscape, and that's something I want at least some of the time. There is no intimacy. It's all grand. It's all emotionally distant even while capturing some very powerful scenes and moments. That's not enough for me.

 

These are all so idealized and heroic. Even Salgado, not known for his understatement and often criticized as overly dramatic, at least seems to have a feel for some of the native habitats and human inhabitants in the places he photographs. On the other hand, look at the humans in Paul Fowles's photo and Graham Niven's photo in this collection. They are simply props. At least Salgado shows a connectedness, if a bit glorified.

 

Every one of these photos strikes me as beautiful, yes, but also as generic, as if certain "impressive" boxes had to be checked and that's that. There is no statement or expression coming through to me other than to hit a photographic home run.

I don't feel the human connection to the landscape, and that's something I want at least some of the time. There is no intimacy. It's all grand. It's all emotionally distant even while capturing some very powerful scenes and moments. That's not enough for me.

I think the best landscapes show little of "the hand of man." Ideally, nature photos show none.

 

IMO, a good landscape shows what you find attractive about the view, and with luck, how you feel when seeing it with your own eyes.

how you feel when seeing it with your own eyes.

I wasn’t asking for “the hand of man” to be shown. What I was missing is just what you said, some sense of feeling about what’s being seen.

"nice" doesn't quite meet the challenge.

Fred -- you speak American, not English. "Fairly decent" in English (at least when i was there was / is high praise, "very nice" intended in the same vein.

 

Aesthetics, I think, are a largely subjective affair. Some liked these, some apparently not!

Sandy, I know praise when I hear it, whether in American or English. Not to worry. I understood “nice” to be a word of praise. :)

 

The challenge, I thought, would be to actually describe the qualities of the photos that led to the praise.

 

That aesthetics are subjective, and I don’t believe they fully are since they are also guided by culture and other less subjective social influences, doesn’t mean more substantive descriptions and reasoning than “nice” can’t be given.

The challenge, I thought, would be to actually describe the qualities of the photos that led to the praise.

I would rather let my puppy teethe on my toes than get into another philosophy tangle -- that is why this was placed in conversation!:eek:

Do you really think that saying why you like some photos requires philosophy? You said it yourself . . . conversation. "It's nice" is not a conversation. But, I have no desire to force the issue. I just thought I'd ask why people liked the photos, since I didn't. No harm, no foul. And I hope for your dogs' sakes, you don't have toenail fungus.

"Very nice! I've not been to Wales. It's not the end of the earth, but it's only a short drive away".Ed.

 

Actually it's Ireland where the end of the earth, ends.; only from there will you be able travel to the magical places where fairies and leprechauns still precede. And of course it is the home of the blarney stone where all philosophy emulated from.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04_UjIwLOys

 

Ps very nice photos.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddv9JrED8E4

Milk and bread is the little folks joy.

 

And they reward....such folk.