There are two impossible questions I like to ask myself as a landscape photographer. Although they will never have the right answers, the closer I try to get, the more I see improvements in my photos. They are: “What makes a good landscape?” and “What makes a good landscape photo?”
I’ve already written several articles on Photography Life attempting to answer these questions on a broader level. (For example, is here An article on how to find beautiful landscapes, and one more (On what makes a good photo.) However, today, I want to instead focus on a much smaller component of the answer – what I call “fractal beauty.”
the idea of fractal beauty Beauty on many different levelsLike a branching tree or a snowflake crystal, fractally beautiful photographs are interesting whether you look at the microscopic level or at the whole picture.
To me, there are two ways to interpret the idea of fractal beauty. Relates to a landscape, which can contain interesting subjects, both large and small; The second concerns photos, which benefit from interesting elements in every aspect of the composition.
absolutely beautiful landscape
I return to the first unanswered question: “What makes a good scenario?”
The closest thing I have to an answer can be summarized by the word DiversityAs a landscape photographer, I don’t really look for places where there is only one good photo to take – a candid shot, even a beautiful one – if the rest of the landscape is uninspiring.
Sometimes, I go to a popular, highly photographed location and feel like it’s a bit of a disappointment in person. It’s not disappointing just because it’s famous or overcrowded (although that doesn’t help). Instead, the bigger problem is that there is nothing interesting except the picture you always see. I love a landscape that provides inspiration in all directions, large and small. Fractal beauty.
Not all famous places are disappointing. I will always love Yosemite National Park for landscape photography. Yes, it’s extremely crowded, and the icons have been photographed millions of times from every imaginable angle. But what about the high country along Tioga Pass? Colorful trees reflected in the Merced River? Small details in the frost covered grass in the morning? To me, Yosemite epitomizes “fractal beauty” because it’s not just about big, iconic landscapes. They’re still beautiful, but so are all the other levels of the park.
I took all of the above photos in Yosemite, and you can see how much inspiration it provides beyond the classic photos. This is why the best locations for landscape photography, at least as I see them, all have a component of fractal beauty. You could throw me into Yosemite with the assignment of simply taking abstract photographs, and I doubt my inspiration would ever run out. The same would be true if you told me to capture only high mountains, only trees, only intimate landscapes, only waterfalls…
The fractal beauty not only results in a greater variety of photos, but it also allows you to take photos that match your inspiration at a particular moment. For example, on my most recent trip to photograph Colorado’s fall color season, I felt a desire to focus more on details and intimate landscapes than in the past, when larger landscapes occupied center stage. Had taken. And the fractal beauty of the place made it possible.
How do you find landscapes that are beautiful on so many different levels? If you don’t already have a place in mind, I recommend starting with regional or national parks. Even – or especially – the less “iconic” areas of the park, there are often beautiful locations for landscape photography. Call it a coincidence or a law of nature, which is beyond my understanding, beautiful places are often seen to do There is also a fractal quality.
Another way to find these types of places is to simply keep your eyes open. Don’t focus on the biggest, most obvious sights around you – instead, look around. Often, deviating a little from the obvious topic, you will find a continuous thread of beauty all around you. If you’re there to notice it, you can get some amazing photos.
very beautiful pictures
Another component of the fractal beauty in landscape photography involves the photo itself. This goes back to that other question, “What makes a good landscape photo?”
Here I don’t have an exact answer for you, but one possible element is this: the photo is interesting in every part of the composition! Nothing feels like it takes away from the image. Instead, each part of the photo contributes to your story, or your emotional message.
This does not mean that the entire photo should be filled with different subjects – there may be completely empty areas or spaces that attract less attention. It’s just that those areas are still interesting and contribute to the photo in some way, rather than taking away from it.
That said, often stunningly beautiful photos. to do There are interesting elements in many different areas of the frame, and they reward the viewer for looking at them longer. I’m always trying to take landscape photos that can be cropped in any possible way and still show something worth seeing. Not that I ever succeed with precision, but it is a goal to pursue, and my favorite images usually meet it to some extent.
conclusion
Landscape photographers often try to pursue beauty, from the places they visit to the images they capture. I think you can take this approach further by thinking about the idea of fractal beauty. Find places with all kinds of inspiring themes, not just clear, gorgeous views. And when you create your photos, don’t just think about the main subject – instead, pay attention to every part of the composition and ask yourself whether it contributes to the whole.
