"Birds" by phonzik
A week and a half ago, I had the chance to visit Southern Spain, and I stayed in a small but gorgeous village called Cutár. The area was extremely mountainous, and the weather was almost always sunny, making some really beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It was the perfect chance to experiment in landscape photography, and it inspired me to make this months article all about landscape photography.
"On New Year's Eve" by cerique
Landscape photography is one of the easier genres to experiment in – all you need is your camera and a creative eye (and sometimes a filter or two). Being an easier genre, there are many gorgeous and amazing landscape photographs out there that are generic, and it is increasingly harder to be original and unique.
Below are some images that I have found over the years that have caught my eye.
Examples
"Chords progression" by autumn-ethereal
It is not often that you see a black and white landscape photograph that actually works, which is why this one caught my eye. The fogginess gives the image a surreal and dream-like atmosphere that makes it really stand out as it does not reveal the whole landscape, and only subtly hints towards the surrounding context. Although this is usually bad, in this photograph it works very well and just adds to the fantastical atmosphere. In this photograph, it is the shadows and the different textures that really make it stand out; there is a gorgeous juxtaposition between the smoothness of the snow-covered mountain, the soft lines of the shadows, and the harsh shapes of the mountain itself. The choice to convert this photograph to monochrome was a good one as it emphasises these differences amazingly.
"Steptoe Sunset" by parkflavour
“Steptoe Sunset” is another enthralling landscape photograph that caught my eye and stole my heart. It is a gorgeous myriad of colours and shadows and lines that meld together to create a beautiful image. The tree in the far left corner also adds a lot to the image, as it helps put the gigantic size of the whole landscape into context, and makes it seem more than a surreal dream. The variety of colour in one landscape is absolutely amazing, and I think it really was captured at the perfect moment, with the perfect shadows and the perfect light.
My Attempt
"Mountainous" by Ameena Rojee
This was my favourite from all the photographs I took while in Spain – I love the lines and different layers of opacity. I also love the lack of colour and the close focus on the three mountains. On the other hand, I do feel that this image is a bit boring and also that it could have been better quality.
"Flare" by Ameena Rojee
Although this photograph is better quality than the other, I feel that it is not as good because it is more generic and typical of a landscape photograph – there is nothing different or unique about it. regardless, my favourite part of it is the disappearing mountains in the background as this really catches my eye.
"Mountains" by Ameena Rojee
This is an older photograph from 2008, also taken in Spain. It is a lot better than the other two photographs and is one of the best I have ever taken. As with “Steptoe Sunset”, there are a variety of unusual colours in one landscape that really catch my eye, and is the reason I took the photograph in the first place. I also find it interesting that the first two photographs were taken while I was actively looking for interesting landscapes to photograph, and this one was taken when I was not. It suggests to me that perhaps there is such a thing as “looking too hard” as I did not really get any great landscape images from the holiday, unfortunately.
Conclusively, having said that landscape photography is an easier genre, I have not had an easy time getting quality photographs in my recent holiday. Sometimes it is about having the right equipment and the right skills, but sometimes it is also about being in the right place at the right time, and seeing the right things, and those are the points when the magic happens.
"Pannonian Sea" by jup3nep
Thanks for reading!