Landscape photography is a quirky genre: you often have to get up ludicrously early, hike for miles with heavy equipment, and endure the wet and cold, and after all that, you don't even get to control the light, and you might not even come away with the shot. Why do it in the first place then?
Coming to you from First Man Photography, this lovely short film is a tribute to the pursuit of landscape photography and all it entails, and why all of that is worth it. Personally, I love landscape photography because I grew up in the country but now reside in the city, and being out in the woods with a camera reconnects me with my roots and lets me get a bit of a fresh air. Beyond that, it's a meditative experience, and it gives a great chance to clear my mind and reset myself a bit. It's also great exercise, and it combines a lot of the things I love. Personally, I think landscape photography is something every photographer should try at some point, even if they have no intentions of monetizing it and are simply doing it for the sheer enjoyment of the pursuit. Why do you do landscape photography?
It reminds me of life, as a whole, with all the difficulties and uncertainty. And in the same way, you're more productive and enjoy it more when you accept the bad as part and parcel of achieving the good.
I'm a hiker/traveller first, and a photographer second. So to me landscape photography is a way to keep memories fresh, to try and relive the emotions I felt that particular day, and try to communicate them to other people. This is why I hate this new trend of skyswapping, photoshopping stuff out or in. Show me the thing how it was so I can feel what you felt. Don't show me something you think will be pretty or popular. This is also why I prefer photographers who shoot their own backyard or countries they've lived in as an expat. I don't care about seeing Horseshoe Bend for the millionth time, no matter how technically brilliant it looks. If you have no emotional connection to the place or the subject, the photo has no value to me.
I just attended an event last night where the photographer who is selling his landscape work said his clients want local landscapes. They aren't interested in, like you mention Horseshoe Bend, but rather local landscapes they can't get from Getty or other stock agencies. So when people say they can't sell their images, maybe they aren't providing the product people want.
Yes, exactly. Also, I suspect that, like me, people will pay more if the photo has a story behind it. It's like with antiques : half the value is the story. Who owned it, what they did with it. With a photo it's how hard was it, how long did it take you, why did it matter so much to you, how rare it is, is this landscape or animal threatened, that kind of stuff.