I am not now nor have ever considered myself to be a dedicated landscape photographer. Oh sure, I dabble in it when shooting infrared landscapes and have lots of fun doing that but living here in Colorado it’s impossible not to be some kind of a landscape photographer, even a half-hearted one like me who does it mostly for fun.
This book is the 14th edition of the annual Landscape Photographer of the Year competition that was created by it’s author. Charlie Waite. It features the winning and “commended” entries in all of the categories—Classic View, your View, Urban Life, Black & White, Historic Britain, Landscapes at Night, and Lines in the Landscape—that are included in the competition. There is also Youth subcategories in many of these.
The book features photographs created by both amateurs and professionals and each image is captioned with the photographer’s account of the inspiration behind the picture, coupled with the relevant technical information about the equipment used and the technique that may have been used to shape the photograph. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you who the winners were but, instead, will pick out some photographers who work really spoke to me. I leave it for you to dig out who the specific winners are.
Karen Brickley‘s image. Walk Diagonal, is a celebration of art in an urban environment with the juxtaposition of someone walking by and seemingly unimpressed by the amazing artwork that ditectly behind him. Like all of the images featured, details include the photographer’s thoughts, (she “waited for a passerby to complete the shot”) as well as the technical details about the camera and lens used.
Daniel Kay‘s Pyramid is a magnificent color image made of the Trotternish Ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. It’s an otherworldly image that benefited from by the photographer’s initial previsualization of the scene but then, as the weather changed, he altered his original plan to create this stunning photograph. Mr. Kay also includes full details on his post processing including all of the adjustments that he made in Adobe Lightroom.
Paul Constable‘s image Wicken Fen is in the Black & White category and no, this dramatic fog-filled image of a windmill was not made in the Netherlands, it was made in Cambridgeshire, England. He shot it at sunrise on a misty autumn morning and he says “the light was crying out got black and white.” I couldn’t agree more and Ill bet you agree.
Itay Kaplan‘s photograph Caught in the Middle in the Landscapes at Night category is a lyrical image of the Prince of Wales bridge in Monmouthshiire, Wales, showing the artistic aspects of the bridge’s design with a full moon in the background—in the middle of the bridge’s main span! Kaplan planned the shot for several months and then “hoped for good weather.” It’s a great message for all photographers: Patience is often rewarded with great images.
Lucie Averhill‘s Remains of the Day is a strong image whose simplicity enhances the overall aesthetics of this monochrome image of the derelict remains of a pier in Bright, East Sussex England. Ms. Averhill used a long exposure to smooth the water creating an overall, soft and somewhat mysterious look to what would be a scene many people might walk by and not notice. A talented photographer, like her, knows there’s more than meets the eye in looking at the world around you.
This is a beautifully printed and carefully executed book that belongs in the library any aspiring landscape photographer as a source of inspiration but even if you have more than a little experience working in the genre, I guarantee that you will learn something from the amazing images that are collected here. I enthusiastically recommend the book to anyone, anywhere who is interested in landscape photography.
While it may be a oversimplification to say that anybody can make a great photograph in Monument Valley*, the truth is that the art of landscape photography often gets confused with the real estate business because of its emphasis on location, location, location.