Generally, when we think about landscape photography, the images we conjure up are of sweeping views; photographs on a grand scale that capture the immensity and beauty of the countryside.
But what of the landscape at your feet? What of the many patterns, textures and details in nature; the small-scale subjects that make up the very scenes we try so desperately hard to photograph? They too can be the source of fascinating images and, unlike the grand view, they provide much more scope for personal interpretation because no one else is likely to see them in quite the same way – if they see them at all.
Famous vistas around the world have been photographed many times before, so it’s hard to shoot them yourself without thinking of the images you’ve already seen, and often what you end up with is no different or better or more creative than anything else.
With details in the landscape, this is never the case because you wouldn’t travel to a location specifically to photograph an arrangement of rocks or a particular tree, and if you did, chances are you would never find it anyway.
The images you end up with are therefore unique because they can never be planned – you don’t know what you’ll find until you’re there, and the chance of another photographer producing an image just like yours is slim! Below I give you my top tips for abstract landscapes to inspire you to create your own.
