[Photo copyright 2009 Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. All rights reserved. Click image to enlarge.]
Some photographers like to take landscape photos. I do too. But the simple fact remains, any landscape image won't even come close to actually being there. No camera can capture the subtle tones and textures resplendent in the natural world. Even the nature in your backyard (if you have a nice one) can be more vibrant than any print by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston or Imogen Cunningham.
That is why I don't take many landscapes. Obviously the seasons at Yosemite, Yellowstone and other natural venues repeat annually. If you go at the right time of year you can enjoy the real thing. The snowy river, the bright blue sky and the eroded canyons have not moved anywhere, yet.
Sometimes I will take a picture during a trip to remember the moment. But nature has to be seen smelled, touched, etc., up close and personal. Not experienced flat and impersonal. Photos of nature are just hollow remembrances, mementos. When you are in a gallery inspecting the desiccated remains of a landscape hanging on a sterile wall, do you ask yourself, I would rather be there than here?
When I walk (not drive) down the street, I am in awe (yes, I get giddy) of nature and architecture. I see art and sometimes history in subtle cracks, textures, shapes and hues.
What do I likeHaving grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area I became familiar with the works of photographic legends Adams, Weston and Cunningham. If you are going to a gallery, I would suggest also investigating the work of Hiroshi Sugimoto and Minor White (earlier). They offer unique abstract images of the ocean. I consider their work more valuable and entertaining.
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