I'm looking for inspiring analogue landscape photographers...

Tom Pinchenzo

Tom Pinchenzo

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Wasn't sure whether to post this here is in the Landscape forum, but I figured here made more sense...

Generally I shoot landscapes digitally and reserve film for 'people' but I want to start shooting more landscapes on film, partly as I now have a medium format camera (I didn't really see 35mm as a landscape format) and I want to shoot more thoughtfully and look for more for details in a landscape (I really don't want to use the word 'intimate',,,). So I was wondering whether anyone could recommend anything to inspire me. I want to get away from looking solely at hyper-edited landscape images as its feels like only eating really sweet food and its ruining my taste for subtler things!!

Many thanks,
Tom
 
Tom - you need to stop there.

Yes, look for landscape photographers that don't produce "hyper-edited landscape images" but don't make the mistake of thinking this is only the domain of film photographers. There's nothing special about film photograhy per se, but there is sometimes some very ordinary photography that gets lauded because it's been shot on film. A good photographer will produce good work whatever the medium. Also remember that in order to look good, a film photograph will often have had substantial manipulation in the darkroom - practically nothing looks good SOOC.

There's no reason not to use your medium format gear for landscape (or your 35mm stuff, if you don't mind the difference in image quality) but do it because of what it brings to your photographs, rather than because it stops you processing images.
 
Fay Godwin is my favourite. Don't know what Kenna shoots.

Fay Godwin
Michael Kenna
Ansel Adams
Don McCullin (add "landscape" to your Googling)
Bill Brandt (again - add "landscape" to your Googling)

If you want modern, I'm out of my knowledge area, although I really enjoy the work of YouTubers Steve O'Nions, Nick Carver and Adrian Vila (search fo "aows") - all who shoot film landscapes (but not exclusively)
 
Harlequin565 said:
Fay Godwin is my favourite. Don't know what Kenna shoots.

Fay Godwin
Michael Kenna
Ansel Adams
Don McCullin (add "landscape" to your Googling)
Bill Brandt (again - add "landscape" to your Googling)

If you want modern, I'm out of my knowledge area, although I really enjoy the work of YouTubers Steve O'Nions, Nick Carver and Adrian Vila (search fo "aows") - all who shoot film landscapes (but not exclusively)
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Just to add, you can often get used books of the work of these photographers at very good prices from Amazon and other book sellers.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Just to add, you can often get used books of the work of these photographers at very good prices from Amazon and other book sellers.
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Just picked up the "Drovers Roads of Wales" (Fay Godwin et.al.) which aside from being fascinating, is a temptation to go and see how it all looks now. 99p. Bargain.
 
Joe Cornish does nice work in 4x5 slide, jem Southam stuff I've recently started looking at too.
 
Tom Pinchenzo said:
Wasn't sure whether to post this here is in the Landscape forum, but I figured here made more sense...

Generally I shoot landscapes digitally and reserve film for 'people' but I want to start shooting more landscapes on film, partly as I now have a medium format camera (I didn't really see 35mm as a landscape format) and I want to shoot more thoughtfully and look for more for details in a landscape (I really don't want to use the word 'intimate',,,). So I was wondering whether anyone could recommend anything to inspire me. I want to get away from looking solely at hyper-edited landscape images as its feels like only eating really sweet food and its ruining my taste for subtler things!!

Many thanks,
Tom
Click to expand...

Do you favour mono or colour, as a matter of interest?
 
Not keen on the picture postcard stuff myself, but landscape photographers using colour who have caught my eye for being slightly 'offbeat';

Jem Southam (already mentioned) https://huxleyparlour.com/artists/jem-southam/
Andy Sewell http://www.andysewell.com/the-heath-1 particularly 'The Heath' (linked) and 'Something Like a Nest'
Marc Wilson https://www.marcwilson.co.uk/ uses large format film.

All three have a knack of capturing a sense of ambiance or atmosphere, and sometimes something enigmatic and mysterious, leaving lingering, unanswered questions.
 
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I'm always surprised why Galen Rowell never comes up on people's list of landscape photographers. If memory serves he had a big influence on Joe Cornish.

Tragically killed in a helicopter crash with his wife he was a National Geographic photographer.

Also check out Frans Lanting who although more wildlife still does/ did landscapes.

If you think Galen's stuff looks colourful it's because he was a master of using Fuji Velvia and Kodachrome. He would combine the use of grad filters and also flash to extend the exposure range where he could. There is a region 1 DVD which he did with Frans that is very inspiring.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Lovely work, but not un-manipulated like the OP wanted (he seems to have written several books on Photoshop, as if the images themselves were not confirmation enough).
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True, but not the type of manipulation the op talks about.
 
What strikes me looking at these photographers’ work is that there’s clearly more going on than just the image - as opposed to just being a pretty picture. Like, you wouldn’t necessarily want them on your wall but I don’t think that’s the point. It’s a completely different kettle of fish. Why it would be the case that film is the chosen medium for this photography I can’t work out. Put another way, it seems strange that there seems to be such a distinction between attractive, attention-grabbing, but otherwise fairly meaningless photography in digital and this thoughtful, more nuanced art form in analogue.
 
Craigus said:
True, but not the type of manipulation the op talks about.
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I'd have said the phrase "hyper edited" fitted quite well - to my eyes the last thing they are is natural or subtle. That's not calling them bad images in any way, but they set about the viewer with a big, shouty, stylistic stick to equal anything Thomas Heaton produces.
 
ancient_mariner said:
I'd have said the phrase "hyper edited" fitted quite well - to my eyes the last thing they are is natural or subtle. That's not calling them bad images in any way, but they set about the viewer with a big, shouty, stylistic stick to equal anything Thomas Heaton produces.
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Fair point, I think that they certainly have a style that is not to everyones taste, but they are far removed from the usual hyper saturated stuff of Instagram and 500px. Some of his stuff is verging on the 'graphic' spectrum to me, it seems some of his earlier work is a bit more traditional. https://www.brucepercy.co.uk/17-16#/altiplano-2016/
 
No one has mentioned Nadav Kander, at least some of his landscape work is large format but it's hard to know for sure because he tends not to talk about gear and process.

Tom Pinchenzo said:
What strikes me looking at these photographers’ work is that there’s clearly more going on than just the image - as opposed to just being a pretty picture. Like, you wouldn’t necessarily want them on your wall but I don’t think that’s the point. It’s a completely different kettle of fish. Why it would be the case that film is the chosen medium for this photography I can’t work out. Put another way, it seems strange that there seems to be such a distinction between attractive, attention-grabbing, but otherwise fairly meaningless photography in digital and this thoughtful, more nuanced art form in analogue.
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As has been said above I don't think it's the medium that makes the difference although particular colour films give a particular colour pallet and for example Jem Southam has said that he is moving more to digital because he can no longer buy film stocks that give him the pallet he wants. It is also still the case that if you want to print very large then a large format camera still beats a "full frame" digital. I suspect for a lot of commercial/professional landscape 'togs there is an element of marketing in using film, buyers like the sense of craft and physical process.
 
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