From: Saulius Eidukas (landscapefoto@yahoo.com)
Date: 12/21/02-03:38:23 PM Z
If we use a computer /Photoshop to make (falsify) pictures that look like pinhole, Holga, Diana or other photographs, aren't we making a...... simulacrum of a simulacrum? The possibilities are.... endless. I know a guy who uses Photoshop to make false Ansel Adams pictures, except that he moves clouds and such around the frame to make things more.... pleasing. My guess is that we'll all soon forget that we exist, if we haven't already. Arthur
Arthur, (if I understand your statement correctly) isn’t the paper image already a representation of a representation? A negative is the first representation and the final output the second? And I think falsify is incorrect, whether we use Photoshop or manipulate in the wet darkroom these are just tools to bring forth our final vision. And yes the possibilities can be endless which can be a good thing.
Regarding this guy you state who makes false A.Adams pictures, does he simply photograph in the A.A. style or does he actually for example scan A.A. images and try to make them his own by making a few changes? Can you clarify, I am curious.
Shannon wrote
When I aim the camera at human things--clotheslines, wheelbarrows, barns, etc--I think I'm thinking about my neighbors and how they use this land and what they have built on it, and are building now. I suppose that's an anthropological interest, and maybe those photographs are not simply landscapes but something else: what?
I think these subjects can still be viewed as landscape images, depending on how they stand alone or in a group. If the images or presentation of these images exclude any hint of the natural landscape it may be difficult to make the connection.
Of course J B Jackson thought that the human impact on the landscape was the most interesting part of the study of landscape, and he considered strip malls and burger drive throughs and gas stations to be as interesting as trees and rocks.
If landscape images exclude any hint of the natural world, say a street scene in a major city where everything has been paved over and all we see is cement and asphalt, then it may be an urban landscape image or maybe architecture or a comment on social issues in the city and society. I guess I believe a landscape photograph should have some reference to the natural world otherwise it may be a sub category like an urban landscape or something else entirely. However I think this can be done whether it is a wide sweeping view or a close up without any horizon line in the image.
a great deal of incredible art is overshadowed or overlooked by nationalistic boundaries. -Darryl
This is so true. The landscape we live in effects our view of it. That’s why I am enjoying this discussion as it helps me consider the landscape photograph in ways I may not have otherwise.
Shannon Stoney wrote:
> Judy wrote:
> Shannon, you seem to have read widely on the subject -- have you seen Frizot's "A New
>>>History of Photography"? It includes a lot of history of landscape photgraphy by, for instance, the French, especially the calotype.
>
> Oh wait--now I remember I did see this recently in a bookstore and I spent a
> long time looking at it. It had a lot of stuff in it I had never seen
> before, as well as a great chapter on contemporary photography.
Thanks for sharing that book title, I will have to search it out for myself. Anyone else have any book suggestions to assist us in defining the landscape photograph. A couple others I’d like to mention are Landscape and Memory by Simon Schama and I quote from the book jacket
“When we look at a landscape, do we see nature or culture? That question lies at the heart ..of this book…..every landscape- forest, river or mountain- is a work of the mind, a repository of the memories and obsessions of the people who gaze upon it.”
Another book of interest is Between Home and Heaven Contemporary American Landscape Photography published by the University of New Mexico Press 1992. There are images of many photographers to name a few randomly, Linda Connor, Robbert Flick, Peter Goin, Mark Klett, Richard Misrach, John Pfahl, Madoka Takagi and more. A few quotes from the accompanying essays-
“Contemporary photography successfully mediates between two opposing tendencies in landscape : the desire to record nature versus the desire to construct reality out of pictorial illusion.”
“No longer mere illustrations, these landscape photographs themselves are subject of complicated realities, dependent on their audiences. Once engaged, we are asked to participate.”
“I was fascinated to note that of all photographs devoted to “pure nature” in this show, not a single one attempts to show vistas of large scale. Every single example is a cameo of something small-a little oasis in a world of intricate interaction.”
Besides books, does anyone have other images they’d like to share to add to this discussion, any photographer web pages we might be interested in looking at?
As I've told you prior I take my students on an 8 day journey into remote
portions of Nevada camping out and photographing. It is extremely difficult
for the average student to 'realize' the environment in which they stand. It
is either too fantastic (perhaps) or just plain beautiful and that, to them,
is ordinary. I find it puzzling the fear (if you will) they have of attempting to capture it. Jack Fulton
Jack, this is something I’ve thought about. Not only how I can attempt to capture a landscape image but make it interesting, relevant to the viewer who may not relate to the subject matter. How to expand on the landscapes interpretation photographically and how to keep it a serious subject matter which I think it is and really deserves. One last thing I’d like to share is a link from a question I posted at a web site once. Why take landscape photographs?
http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:zvGfN_C8uWkC:www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg%3Fmsg_id%3D0034U2+%22why+take+landscape+photographs%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Ok, I’ve said more then enough.
Saulius
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