What is a "Landscape Shot"?

It seems to me that trying to describe what is a landscape shot has little to do with the equipment used, the angle of view, and the framing (aspect ratio) of the image, but rather the content captured in the photo on the human scale of things. Some of the phrases used in previous posts are indicative of this, e.g. 'an extensive view' and 'a comparatively large expanse of land'. The majority of photos described as landscapes often appear to contain a scene of land (or of coast) that is perhaps hundreds or more times the size of a human being.

Cheers.
Philip

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Originally Posted by Donald

There's not a lot written on the subject, but it is out there - 'Long lens landscape photography'. Some of my best landscape images have been made with the 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS MkII on board.

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Thanks for the search suggestion, Donald.

This find was pretty good because it included quite a lot about perspective and "lens compression" with very good illustrations of those effects, whereas I was tending to think more in terms of angle-of-view:

https://photographylife.com/using-te...e-photography/
.

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Originally Posted by xpatUSA

Thanks for the search suggestion, Donald.

This find was pretty good because it included quite a lot about perspective and "lens compression" with very good illustrations of those effects, whereas I was tending to think more in terms of angle-of-view:

https://photographylife.com/using-te...e-photography/
.

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I posted this on here recently. This is an image captured at 400mm on a full frame camera.

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Originally Posted by Donald

I posted this on here recently. This is an image captured at 400mm on a full frame camera.

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Thanks again for that link which I do remember.

Of particular interest there today was George v. Dan.

Apropos of which, it seems to me that folks have their favorite metrics for the combination of subject size, distance-to-subject, angle subtended thereby, effective focal length, sensor size, angle of view.

It's similar in construction: while an architect might think of roof pitch in terms of angle for calculating roof loading, the guys who do the the work greatly prefer run-and-rise to get the job built.

It even shows up in definition of color hue: some prefer it expressed as an angle round a color circle; others prefer cartesian measure i.e. x,y or u,v or a*,b*.

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Originally Posted by xpatUSA

It's amazing how we photographers twist and turn to avoid thinking about angular measure, especially angle of view.

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In my case, I don't do any twisting and turning to avoid thinking about them. Instead, I simply don't think about them. That's because, for me, thinking about them would be a complete waste of time, not the slightest bit productive or interesting.

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Therefore a butte becomes a "landscape" simply by virtue of it's linear width.

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Not necessarily true for me, though that's a possibility. I would also take into account the linear height and linear depth. Perhaps that makes you feel better. :D

I'm with Mike on this one. I do pay any attention to "definitions" of this sort is when they are used to delimit entries to a competition. Outside of that, I only rarely find them useful. This is not one that seems at all useful to me.

To clarify things, I should mention that I tag all of my landscape shots for use with my catalog. However, it doesn't matter whether anyone agrees with me about whether the tagged landscapes are indeed landscapes. That's because I'm the only person that uses the catalog and I don't care whether people use search engines to find my images online, or more to the point, whether they find them.

So a Landscape shot might be defined by:

- frame orientation? Where does that leave images made of scenery in a vertical frame or heaven forbid, a square frame?
or,
-by lens focal length but that suggests that a shot with a WA on the one hand and a shot using a long lens from much further away of the same scene results in one being a landscape but not the other?

or is a landscape shot merely an image made of the landscape? Landscape being defined as:

"A portion of land or territory which the eye can comprehend in a single view including all objects so seen.." Webster's 1944 edition.

"An extensive area of scenery as viewed from a single aspect..." Collins 1988 edition.

"all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal...." Oxford English Dictionary on line 2017.

um??

Who cares? Let's make images.

As Manfred said up near the beginning of the thread. If you're entering a competition, you need to study the criteria and definition of landscape that the organisers are using for that competition.

Other than that, just make excellent pictures.

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Originally Posted by Donald

Who cares? Let's make images.

As Manfred said up near the beginning of the thread. If you're entering a competition, you need to study the criteria and definition of landscape that the organisers are using for that competition.

Other than that, just make excellent pictures.

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I couldn't agree more Donald but I was trying politely, to answer the original question.

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Originally Posted by John 2

I couldn't agree more Donald but I was trying politely, to answer the original question.

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My comment was not directed at you, John, but at the wider world for this becoming a topic that seems to consume people. I don't know why.

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Originally Posted by Donald

this becoming a topic that seems to consume people. I don't know why.

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It's just part of the hobby for many people; many are understandably fascinated by discussions such as this one. As another example of the variety of ways to enjoy the hobby, many people tend to get involved in discussions about technical matters though they rarely post photos or discuss photos made by others.

This is why I rarely if ever go on dpreview - members creating utterly ridiculous arguments for no other reason than their need to argue. It does nothing other than annoy others and ruins otherwise excellent threads.

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Originally Posted by Black Pearl

This is why I rarely if ever go on dpreview - members creating utterly ridiculous arguments for no other reason than their need to argue. It does nothing other than annoy others and ruins otherwise excellent threads.

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Medical Doctors and people with PhDs are both called "Doctor." A friend of mine made a keen observation when he asked a doctor "Are the you kind of doctor that fixes people or the kind that corrects people?" Some fora really attract posters that want to correct rather than fix.

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Originally Posted by GrumpyDiver

Richard that definition is a little like reading a Microsoft software manual. 100% accurate, but not necessarily particularly useful.

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I agree but, except for determining entries in contests, I wonder about the usefulness of trying to nail down a definition for the word "landscape". Otherwise, I don't think that there are any "Word Police" worrying about the focal length that any image was shot with...

As I have read responses so far, the consensus appears to be that dwelling on or even considering the meaning of "landscape shot" is a waste of time and energy, even for pedants.

As a Sigma forum member over on DPR with almost 10,000 posts there, I do find the snipes made specifically at DPR membership less than pleasant but that's human nature, I guess.

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Originally Posted by xpatUSA

As a Sigma forum member over on DPR with almost 10,000 posts there, I do find the snipes made specifically at DPR membership less than pleasant but that's human nature, I guess.

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I joined DPR, posted several few times, felt insulted many times and then quit the forum - all in two or three days' time.

Michael

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Originally Posted by paintingwithlight

I joined DPR, posted several few times, felt insulted many times and then quit the forum - all in two or three days' time.

Michael

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Assuming that your experience is intended to prove the opposite of mine, Michael, mine has the greater statistical weight - both in time served and number of posts made there.

Just sayin' ;)

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Originally Posted by xpatUSA

. . . a shot of our planet taken from the moon.

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That's an Earthscape.

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Originally Posted by paintingwithlight

Medical Doctors and people with PhDs are both called "Doctor." A friend of mine made a keen observation when he asked a doctor "Are the you kind of doctor that fixes people or the kind that corrects people?"

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Hurtful.
(just joking)