Outdoor Photography

February 2018 Outdoor Photography 39

LIE OF THE LAND

As photographers, we are constantly being

asked ‘why this’ and ‘why that’. When the

person asking is a non-photographer, the

question is usually related to why we do

photography in the fi rst place or why we

have chosen a particular camera; if another

photographer is asking the question, then

it is more likely to be about camera settings

or gear specifi cations. But there are other,

deeper questions that should be asked,

such as why do you shoot what you shoot?

When they start out, nearly everyone

will shoot a bit of everything. Some

people continue doing that for their entire

photography adventure, while others will

explore various genres before settling on

the one that fi ts them best. For me, that

genre is landscape/seascape photography.

I am drawn out and away from urban areas

to parts of our planet that are less touched

by human hands. I long to be away from

the visual cacophony, sounds, smells and

obligations of cities, communities and even

my home. I escape to the landscape. Or,

more precisely, I escape to the sea. It calls

me. But why?

The truth is, while I am drawn to the

sea as sailors were to the sirens, I am

also terrifi ed by it. It calls me not just in

a romantic way, but also in a destructive

way. The sea is deadly. It is powerful and

untamed, and vast beyond my realistic

understanding of size. It is fi lled with

creatures that are alien to me and I know

I could not survive there. And yet I keep

coming back. I keep answering her call.

I believe the reason is rooted in the

sublime – the greatness, beauty and terror

that attracts us to things such as religion,

love and the after-life. For hundreds of

years philosophers and artists have known

that the sublime is an intoxicating and

spellbinding combination of seemingly

confl icting elements. John Dennis, Joseph

Addison and Edmund Burke all wrote

about this confusing mixture, while the

German philosopher Immanuel Kant

wrote very specifi cally of the sublime

that it is ‘the noble, the splendid and

the terrifying’. Artists such as James de

Loutherbourg and Caspar David Friedrich

used grand landscapes in their own works

depicting the sublime, and it is perhaps no

great wonder that today’s landscape and

seascape photographers do the same.

Knowing why I am out there – what

my deepest motivations are – helps me

understand my own intentions. In turn,

that focuses my attention more clearly

on technical aspects such as composition,

semiotics and camera settings, which

I need to consider in creating the work

that I want to make. I am not just there

to fi nd a pretty picture; I am there to

make a meaningful expression of my

infatuation and devotion to something

greater than myself.

So it’s useful to often ask yourself the

question: what do I shoot, and why?

Having a deeper understanding of what you photograph and why can help inform both your technical

and creative decisions claims Athena Carey, whose personal passion is for seascapes and the sublime

The call of the sea

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