Learning from the Landscape
What makes a location interesting?
Hello, I’m Gill and I write a photography blog inspired by the landscapes of Suffolk and beyond. Please subscribe to read more of my writing and visit my website to view my images.
I am standing at the edge of a little bay on a transition line between sand and pebbles. Ahead of me the waves lazily roll ashore, the motion and sound playing out across the inlet with a calming rhythm. The day is cold with a steady drizzle which reduces visibility and closes the bay off from the rest of the world. Ahead of me the small isles of Eigg, Muck and Rum lie across the sea, I know they are there but I cannot see them. Today the world, and my photography, is all about this little beach. The rain mutes the colours and gives the scene a painterly feel. It also makes photography difficult, but I persevere, wiping my filters and taking a few more shots. I am enjoying the atmosphere and love the look of the images on the back of the camera.
I am here with my workshops participants who are all engrossed in photographing what has inspired them. We are all on different parts of the beach and no one is focusing on the same subject. We have all found something compelling to focus our interest.
Some are drawn to intimate landscapes perhaps persuaded by the light, some are drawn to the sand patterns on the beach, but I felt compelled to focus on the wider landscape and shoot across the bay and this is the first image I made.
So what makes a landscape interesting?
The answer to this question will be different for everyone. It is the reason that we all make varied images and are all inspired by unique things. It is the reason we were all stranding on different parts of the beach on that wet November morning.
There is no doubt that the bay we were visiting can yield interesting images. It has a lovely outlook, some wonderful rock formations and the most amazing sand patterns and I have focused on all these things in the past.
But on this day, in the rain, all I wanted to shoot was painterly images. The next image turned out to be my favourite from the session and it was something that everyone else dismissed at the time.
So what did I see in this landscape that others didn’t? Without the wide reaching view of the small isles this could just be a headland shot. You may feel it has little more to offer than that but I disagree. For me this scene and the resulting image is all about mood, tone, colour, luminosity, flow and movement. I see more than the component parts, I see more than just a beach and a headland. I see the painterly effect, the subtle tones, the rain swept horizon and the autumnal colours in the rocks. In my mind I can feel the rain on my face and hear the sound of the waves. I see how the water flows around the depressions in the sand and I notice the swirls of the incoming waves as they move in different directions. I see the light emerge and bounce off the surface of the sea as the clouds begin to lift and break. In short I see all the little intricacies that made this scene interesting to me.
Sometimes I feel that when we look for places to photograph we place too much emphasis on dramatic features. We are often looking for impact and drama because that is what is universally appealing, particularly if we are looking for likes on Instagram!
My image has no drama, little impact and a really basic composition but somehow I still find it interesting. Somehow it feels just that little bit removed from reality, like a painting where you are not sure what is real and what has been created from the artists imagination. It makes me want to stand on that beach and soak up the atmosphere and despite its simplicity I know it is a scene I won’t tire of easily.
I was listening to a podcast by Bruce Percy the other day in which he talked about the landscape as a teacher. He spoke about finding a special place that gets under your skin and keeps calling you back. One that consistently provides you with images and inspiration. One you can learn from.
I have thought about this a lot since. We tend to think that we learn from books or workshops or people we admire but actually if we pay attention the landscape itself is the greatest teacher.
By noticing what inspires us when we are out and looking back at our work afterwards we can learn what pleases us within an image - what we like and dislike. We learn how to refine a composition to get the best from a location and ultimately we learn what post processing techniques we will apply to give us the style we are looking for. We learn what conditions and what landscapes speak to us and we carry this with us as we move along in our creative journey.
My shot may not have an impact that shouts at you from the screen, but it does have a subtlety that I love. It has soft tones that range from a warm beige to cool white and just enough movement to create some interest in the foreground. I can identify these things that resonate with me and take them forwards into the next shot that I make.
The images below were made a fews miles along the coast from my first shots. They were inspired by similar conditions and are again all about tones, subtle changes in light and colour and the motion in the water.
Over the years I have learned that I like painterly images, that subtlety is preferable to impact, that post processing can give my images a definitive style and that nature is my inspiration.
When I look back at my images from 10 years ago I will not see this style represented at all, it has evolved over time from experimentation and paying attention to what I like. There is no doubt that immersing myself in landscapes like those I find in Scotland is very beneficial and has definitely help me shape my photography and my thoughts going forward.
The landscape can teach us so much if we choose to notice and listen.
What do you find interesting in the landscape? Are you drawn to the drama of amazing places or are you more comfortable with a more subtle approach? Do you feel that the landscape can teach you things and have you found this applies to your own work. I would love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment below.
Thank you so much for reading and until next time enjoy your photography
Gill
Hi Gill. Very thought provoking.
If I may, I might disagree on one thing you said when talking about your favourite from the day: "My image...has little impact". I don't agree with that. Subtlety, colour and careful light can have what I think of as a lasting impact. Which image would you go back to repeatedly: one that hits you between the eyes, or one which you spend time studying? That's what impact means to me - an image you want to look at more than once, and which has significance to you - it's made an impact on you.
On a separate point, I was interested in how you think your style has evolved. Some photographers seem to be instantly recognisable and seem to have found a 'formula' which they stick to. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, but personally I would prefer to be open to change.
This is fascinating. Attention and immersion in a beautiful wild landscape — what could be better for the soul? This in particular struck me: “finding a special place that gets under your skin and keeps calling you back.” For years, I would return each summer to a place called Brewster Flats on Cape Cod and sit in the sand and make a few watercolors when the tide was way out. I was attracted by the deep blue pencil line of the sea at the horizon - a mix of ultramarine and indigo. And by the surprising variety of colors in the grasses and hummocks of sand revealed by the escaped water. And of course the light. It finally occurred to me that during these sessions, the place had its way with me, holding my attention and in return giving me such a feeling of connection and peace.