Representational Landscape Photography

This is the most the traditional form of landscape photography that has been around since the first camera. It is as pure photography as you can get, it is without any alterations it is just a photo nothing more. Because of it's nature this form of photography is the most widely available but one of the hardest to master. It relys heavily on timing and weather for lighting, effects and the entire setting of the photo. This style is most wildly used by photographers who focus on landscapes of more rural or of the wilds like deserts, forests, wastelands or even in some cases sea's and oceans. Although it can be employed in more urban area's to good effect as the way the city's tend to form with buildings being either individual or carbon copy's of a general mold can mean that a it forms like any other environment and in the same way as a forest can yield a photo that is unique even among sprawl of the same thing.

Many great photos done in this style have been done in black and white out of necessity or purely out of artistic preference. One example is Ansel Adams who took many photo's and because of when they were taken they weren't edited. I feel this leaves the photo's with a real depth and a truly authentic quality that lets you get an in site into the area that edited photo's cannot match.

Some of my favorite pieces of his work are his pictures of the Yosemite national park they really capture the dramatic beauty of these mountainous wilds. The natural beauty of these places is astounding and that these can be captured by such simple methods. I like the way this photo has dark areas above and below which frames it and highlights the mountains and the moon.

This is a quite spectacular example of photography especially considering the equipment he would have had to use. The lighting in this photo is amazing how it is emerging over the mountains and illuminates the river. I am left wondering if this photo was taken at sunrise or sunset, i would think it was most likely sunrise as there is little difference in the color of the light comining over the mountains and if it were sunset you would expect it to have alot of distincsion through it.

This image i belive can be best described as "epic" as it captures this vast landscape. With its windswept mountains and the waterfalls flowing off the cliff it reminds me of old paintings i especaily love the detail and texture of the clouds also suprisingly it all remains in focus even with the treetops so close.

Another photographer i like is Fay Godwin. Although her photo's arn't of on the scale of Ansel Adams and tend to focus more on open almost barren areas they do share some qualitys for instance the use of black and white photography. I belive they both use this to great sucess.

This is an interesting photo because while the most dominant feature in it is the standing stones they form lines that draw the eye upwards to the clouds in particular the lighter patch. This is a very simple image that really demenstrates that formal training is not always nessasary in those who have the natural eye for it.

This is a rather odd image that i like because of its lack of... well anything it is almost completely empty apart from the, what i think is a, road running through the the middle. That shows up so clearly because of the light glinting of it. It practicaly splits the image through the center leaving only the light shining through the clouds and a darker section of road below.

This is such a simple image with little content apart from the boulder and tree on the crest of the hill. The wild grasses being swept aside drawes the eye almost like a set of stairs to the boulder that is also highlighted by the split in the clouds that center the image.

jen southen