Page 34 - Australian Photography - September 2017

OPI N ION: L A N DSCAPE PHOTOGR A PH Y

you found yourself in the right place at the right time
you’d be able to snap a winning shot.
That’s the approach of many amateur photographers
who are more likely to consider photography as the sec-
ondary activity. Secondary to other primary activities
like going to the beach, taking a bushwalk, being on
holiday, or attending a family event.
For professionals, the opposite is true. Photography itself
is the primary activity. It’s the distinction between taking
your camera to the beach, and going to the beach to take
photos. And that makes all the difference in the world.
While we can’t plan every family holiday around the
most photogenic locations, we can block out time each
week dedicated to the pursuit of photography.
To capture memorable images, we must respect the pro-
cess and invest the time and effort required to create them.
MAKING ART TAKES TIME
To produce art with the power to capture our emotions
takes time and patience.
As enthusiasts looking to the masters for advice –
searching for hidden tricks they know and we don’t – it’s
tempting to think the secret to a beautiful landscape pho-
to lies in knowing what gear was used. Or what viewpoint
it was taken from. Or what time of day it was shot at.
The truth is it’s all of these and yet so much more. It’s
years (decades even) of technical expertise. It’s refined
intuition to know how to align for the scene’s most ap-
pealing composition. It’s returning season after season
for the optimal conditions. It’s withstanding howling
winds and torrential rain. It’s sacrificing sleep each
morning in the hunt for perfect light.
THE GEAR ILLUSION
It’s a convenient illusion sold to us by modern consum-
er culture that the better the equipment, the better the
work we can create. Take any experienced drummer,
for example. Hand them an upside down bucket and a
pair of chopsticks and I assure you the quality of their
music will be magnitudes higher than a first year ama-
teur playing on a top of the line professional drum kit.
n this age of digital photography and social media, The same holds true for seasoned photographers.
we’re exposed to an endless stream of stunning land- Yes, the tools of the trade are important to profes-
scape images. And while browsing through galleries sional landscape photographers. Of course they are.
Iof postcard-perfect photos can be a satisfying expe- But they only add a fraction to the quality of the final
rience, it can also create the impression that capturing product. The vast majority comes down to the photog-
memorable landscapes is a relatively simple thing to do. It’s rapher’s consideration of composition, their technical
alluring to think that with a bit of luck and the right gear skills, environmental lighting and the photographic
you’ll be shooting award-winning landscapes in no time. potential of the scene they put themselves in.
But landscape photography has very little to do with luck
and gear, and everything to do with perseverance and grit. THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
We don’t expect poets to write timeless verses on a For amateur photographers just starting out (and for
whim. Nor do painters produce masterpieces in single those still refining their skill sets, like myself), it’s easy
sittings. Why then should we expect any different for to get disheartened when social media bombards us
striking landscape images? with breathtaking imagery each and every day.
On the positive side, exposure to the seemingly
FROM SNAPSHOTS TO PHOTOGRAPHS infinite number of perfect photos can inspire us to
Like a lot of people, my early ideas of what was involved capture beautiful images ourselves. It’s what sends me
in capturing good photos had a lot to do with luck – if halfway across the world to explore and photograph

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