Part 3 Exercise 3.1 - Reflecting on the Picturesque

Exercise 3.1 - Reflecting on the Picturesque

Pictorialism arguably started as a genre in the 17th century but became popular in the 18th century with a spread in terms of style incorporating the beautiful through to the sublime and some capturing both in the same image. This style continued in its popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries. At the outset of photography many painters began to use photography as the means to help capture images from which with memory used as the basis for paintings and an aide to their creative talents. 

As photography developed, it arguably became an art form in its own right and to some degree championed by Photographer's such as Alfred Stieglitz.

The art form lay not just in the decision of where to place the camera under what lighting conditions but the methods for the exposing of the film and its processing by photographer's like Ansel Adams.

Perhaps for the public it allowed many to see the before unseeable, some to dream about locations captured by the myriad of pictorialist photographers. For some picturesque images were just a matter of opening one's eyes and seeing them if they lived in the country or close to locations with stunning views. For those in cities and towns these locations may have been unreachable but enjoyed as photographs.

Interestingly as this exercise starts there is an image of Frank Newbould's "The Wye Valley 1946" which was one of many images he took to promote tourism as transport posters for Great Western Railway. This would encourage visitors to picturesque locations perhaps boosting local trade but primarily boosting the profits of the GWR company transport them to and from these picturesque locations

This particular scene is taken from Symonds Yat Rock in the Forest of Dean where I live. I'm actually in the process of taking 4 pictures from this very same spot, one being taken for each of the four seasons. I'm assuming Newbould took this image using a medium format camera based on the shape of the image

Image 1

This image is taken by myself from what appears to be a very similar position, I think I am a bit higher than Newbould's position



Image 2

Using Photoshop I've used the adjustment posterise and wonder if the Great Western Railway would have be happy to consider this also.

As an individual desiring to develop my photographic skills into an artform then I begin to realise that I must also progress the type of images I want to create. Look at one or 2 picturesque images and they can be enjoyed, look at a dozen and perhaps like too many sickly sweets our receptors become numbed

Andy Adams asks the questions:
 - Why do people photograph places? 
 - What compels artists to make images of the land? Are their intentions similar or different than previous generations?"

I enjoy the pictoresque image as much as the next person but I feel that as my understanding of photography as an art form grows my hunger for a different type of photographic image of the landscape grows also.

I've discovered the Flak Photo Collection website which allows subscription to images to begin to satiate my hunger for images of a different substance and certainly flavour.
http://flakphoto.com/collection

Picturesque images have changed since their origins; I think because we demand more. We can all see the obvious and travel there if its not close. Landscape photography is evolving both in terms of the exploration performed by modern practitioners, but also as observers of images since we have become more demanding and require more stimulation