Landscape photography is arguably the most common form of photography, showing wide open spaces, most often devoid of life to express the vastness of area pictured. The only time people are involved in landscape photography is normally for scaling purposes, to convey the size of an object, or to add depth to the photo by giving an idea of distance.

Prior to the California Gold Rush, which gained momentum around 1848, explorers headed west. They brought cameras with them. Beginning around 1860, photographic prints were developed and became widespread. – Source: www.ehow.com

Areas like ‘Monument Valley – Utah’ in the American mid-west are hailed as being the beginning of landscape photography and who could blame them for taking cameras, with immense shots like this just asking to be captured. An endless sprawling desert broken only by huge sand mesa’s. Natural skyscrapers jutting out of the ground in such an unbelievably sparse environment… Beautiful!

The sprawling desert landscape of 'Monument Valley' - Utah

A large number of landscape photos are taken in these sparse environments… Places like deserts, icy tundras, open meadows and out at sea. Areas like this portray a real feeling of size and almost loneliness. Good examples of ‘seascape’ photography are the two photos below. The almost endless body of water between the nearby rockface and the distant mountain really does feel like it could take weeks to traverse. The second photo also creates a real sense of distance over an untamed liquid desert. Two very well composed photos in our opinion!

A fantastic example of seascape photography - Photo source: 1x.com

Another brilliant seascape photo - Photo source: 1x.com

Seascape photographs are usually built around portraying a feeling of distance; with the earth being over 2 thirds water, many bodies of water exist in unimaginable scales. A lot of photographers take this in mind and can result in fantastic shots that really give their audience a feel for the isolation of being lost at sea.

A totally barren icy tundra - Photo source: 1x.com

Moving away from the isolation of a seascape and towards the treacherous terrain that is the arctic landscape. The isolation and loneliness is still firmly planted in these icy areas, but even a nearby structure (such as the building shown above) can feel like a life-risking journey to reach. Areas like this are renowned for being extremely dangerous to traverse, no matter how prepared you might think you are!

We think that this photo really does create a good sense of the isolation and danger of being somewhere like this. The cracked and rippled snowy ground is almost unsettling, to think that one wrong step could result in a heart-stopping icy bath really gives an idea of the dangerous lengths photographers will go to just to please us!

An earthly countryside landscape - Photo source: 1x.com

Heading back in-land we have a good example above of a typical landscape photo, this one in particular gives a good sense of distance. The photo is very nicely composed to create the effect of a layered landscape.

Close up are the individual blades of grass, small tufts and weeds; it’s almost like they’re at your feet. On the next layer to this composition, the grass becomes abundant – like a foundation to support the lone tree and a few hedges. Then on the next layer – what seems to be a lining of hedges, are actually all trees! it’s ard to tell in the low-res version we have here, but you can still get an idea for the distance. With how big the nearest tree appears, you can judge just how far off the others must be! The 4th layer is simply a foggy backdrop, which adds that un-reachable feel.

Rolling hills landscape - Photo source: 1x.com

This final photo is the epitome of what a landscape photo should be. A truly sprawling area of land that is practically untouched by man. Especially this photo, we hope you can appreciate nature’s handy work with these 100% naturally crafted hills. You get a good idea of why people use the expression – “Rolling Hills” – it’s as if the force of the wind has rolled over this land so vigorously that it has created these huge hills and mountainous mounds of turf.

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy our other posts on – Reflection in photography Faking a miniature landscape

All but the first photo in this article have been sourced from 1X.com, visit their site for more fantastic photographs.

Until next time, The Picture Frames Express Team.