Has landscape photographers lost touch with reality? With aperture stacking, Orton Effect, multiple-scene blending and endless processing techniques we have well and truly blurred the lines between real landscape photography and fantasy. It really doesn’t matter if the conditions are favourable or the location is perfect. All you need to do these days is capture a bunch of images, from different locations, under any conditions, and with some processing magic you have an epic result. Combine that with some fantasical description and everyone is booking the next helicopter to Narnia or dreaming of a scene from Lord Of The Rings. In a 1907 paper, Sigmund Freud wrote glowingly about the human obsession with fantasy: “Might we not say that every child at play behaves like a creative writer, in that he creates a world of his own, or, rather, rearranges the things of his world in a new way which pleases him?” Personally, I prefer the hunt for something different — from real locations — and the patience to wait for the perfect conditions. Let’s face it. We all want to capture amazing images, but we need to be true to ourselves and the viewing public. I didn’t hike miles for this location or endure torturous conditions. I just had the privilege of spending time with some cool friends and witnessing something real. My advice to any new photographer starting out: just keep it real and let nature’s true magic inspire you.
