Nature tends to be regarded as the antithesis to man-made and artificial., parodied by Goudal's image of a waterfall made from polyethylene, a substance that is most definitely not 'natural':
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| Naomie Goudal Cascade. Accessed from http://www.saatchigallery.com/imgs/artists/goudal_noemie/20110712093039_noemie_goudal_LesAmants%28Cascade%29.jpg |
BEAUTY
Beauty is the subject of the Assignment and forms much of what the chapter is about. Burke discussed the concept in antithesis to sublime. It may be more objective than we think; there is some evidence for the geometry of harmonious proportions, as demonstrated by this image taken on New Year's Eve/Day 2015/16 and featured on many news wires:
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| Drunks on the streets of Manchester went viral as reported in Daily Mail among others - shows how the geometry of the golden ratio helped captivate the audience |
Beauty may be 'politicized', such as the move to create National Parks, a movement that Ansel Adams supported. This implies there is such a thing as objective beauty.
PICTURESQUE
The phrase picturesque has less to do with a movement than with a 'depoliticization' of the concept: a visual balance as well as social harmony as discussed in Exercise 3. The concept of picturesque has been ascribed to William Gilpin, a traveller who had preconceived ideas of what picturesque meant' "I am so attached to my picturesque rules, that if nature gets wrong, I cannot help by putting her right". Gilpin achieved this by amending sketches: sShades of contemporary post processing, such as this image that won a Nikon prize but was then shown to be faked by using Photoshop to 'add' the aeroplane:
There have been some negative responses to the ideal of the picturesque. In an attempt rather similar to Martin Parr's image of Macch Picchu, Suzanne Mooney digitally superimposed a camera onto the scene it was taking as a parody of touristic views of Ireland. I took an image myself in Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, where selfie sticks seem to outnumber flowers.
The problem of 'picturesque' is that it is idealized and can often hide the underlying reality of living in those areas, but as Alexander points out, there is a need for 'escapery' and picturesque landscapes as adduced by the ready availability of desktop backgrounds.
THE SUBLIME
The sublime is a key concept of landscape photography and the subject of a BBC podcast discussed on another post. The concept was discussed as long ago as 300BC by Longinus, and revisited by Burke in the 18th century. It is important to note that sublime is not only a pictorial concept but applies to literature too (as discussed primarily on the podcast).
Sublime describes an emotional concept (even when used in, say a sporting concept such as 'sublime free kick' it alludes to our sense of what is exceptional) although Burke identified specific objects that were 'the product of the sublime', suchas vastness, darkness, suddenness and angry tones of wild beasts. De Loutherbeg's painting Avalance in The Alps is an archetypal example of the sublime. Disaster movies such as Independence Day and horror movies as a genre appeal to our sense of sublime.
There is a contrast in the concepts of picturesque - implying an 'inherent formalism' that is self contained - and of sublime where 'the real significance of the subject is ineffable.'
EXPLORATION
Landscape photography owes much to journeys, often to places that are familiar but also to those that are not - the 'surprise element.' All my National Trail blogs are of a mixture: I am aware of what to expect because I/we have a guidebook, a map, a plan of the route and a preconception of what I/we shall see, yet the detail on the ground can be appreciated only by visiting and experiencing, and the actuality can throw up surprises (see the blog of my recent walk from Cardiff to Barry as an example).
Wilderness is another concept that is core to some landscape photography - Enduring Eye, a collection of Hurley's images taken on the Shackleton Antractic expedition is a fine example.
Images can have a strategy around them - my walks are again an example, albeit far from unique.
Marion Shoard articulated the term 'Edgelands' for those spaces between different types of landscape. The Coast Paths are an example, and I photograph some, such as this image of Cattedown Road in Plymouth: my vote for least picturesque scene on South West Coast Path:
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| Accessed from: http://www.diyphotography.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Nikon-Fake-2-670x445.png |
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| Martin Parr's parody of tourists taking the famous Macchu Pichhu. Accessed from http://www.martinparr.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/LON107988.jpg |
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| Selfie sticks abound at Gardens by the Bay |
The problem of 'picturesque' is that it is idealized and can often hide the underlying reality of living in those areas, but as Alexander points out, there is a need for 'escapery' and picturesque landscapes as adduced by the ready availability of desktop backgrounds.
THE SUBLIME
The sublime is a key concept of landscape photography and the subject of a BBC podcast discussed on another post. The concept was discussed as long ago as 300BC by Longinus, and revisited by Burke in the 18th century. It is important to note that sublime is not only a pictorial concept but applies to literature too (as discussed primarily on the podcast).
Sublime describes an emotional concept (even when used in, say a sporting concept such as 'sublime free kick' it alludes to our sense of what is exceptional) although Burke identified specific objects that were 'the product of the sublime', suchas vastness, darkness, suddenness and angry tones of wild beasts. De Loutherbeg's painting Avalance in The Alps is an archetypal example of the sublime. Disaster movies such as Independence Day and horror movies as a genre appeal to our sense of sublime.
There is a contrast in the concepts of picturesque - implying an 'inherent formalism' that is self contained - and of sublime where 'the real significance of the subject is ineffable.'
EXPLORATION
Landscape photography owes much to journeys, often to places that are familiar but also to those that are not - the 'surprise element.' All my National Trail blogs are of a mixture: I am aware of what to expect because I/we have a guidebook, a map, a plan of the route and a preconception of what I/we shall see, yet the detail on the ground can be appreciated only by visiting and experiencing, and the actuality can throw up surprises (see the blog of my recent walk from Cardiff to Barry as an example).
Wilderness is another concept that is core to some landscape photography - Enduring Eye, a collection of Hurley's images taken on the Shackleton Antractic expedition is a fine example.
Images can have a strategy around them - my walks are again an example, albeit far from unique.
Marion Shoard articulated the term 'Edgelands' for those spaces between different types of landscape. The Coast Paths are an example, and I photograph some, such as this image of Cattedown Road in Plymouth: my vote for least picturesque scene on South West Coast Path:
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