PERSPECTIVE

Unnatural landscapes

What is acceptable in a landscape photograph?

A suitably pictorialist view of the Loe Pool in Cornwall, where this train of thought began. Shot on Kodachrome. © Copyright Steve Mansfield-Devine 1993.

There are so many rules when it comes to photography. The rule of thirds for composition. Always have a catchlight in the eyes for portraits. And so it goes on.

And yes, rules are made to be broken — not for the sake of it but because slavish adherence results in unchallenging and predictable images. I’d argue that my picture at the top of this article is an example of that.

But it goes deeper. And it comes down to our innate love for putting things in categories.

Which brings me to my key question: what is a landscape photograph? Or, looked at from another angle, if you want to label an image a ‘landscape’, are there rules about what is acceptable content?

How do you feel about that pylon? © Copyright Steve Mansfield-Devine 2016.

Spoiler alert: my answer to these questions is that an image is an image. It is to be experienced and judged on its own terms. If you want to put it in a pigeonhole or give it a label, well fine. But let’s not be too didactic about these things.

A matter of age?