Is Landscape Photography a Worthwhile Activity?

Landscape photographers may say:

• I just like to be with nature…or enjoy God’s creation.
• This is my chance to be creative.
• It’s a time I can be alone and think about things.
• It’s my time to relax.
• Just a few likes on social media keeps me satisfied.
• I like to sell my photography.

I pretty much live life more than I spend time thinking about it. But, while resting on an ice-covered bench at Mather Point in Grand Canyon National Park, waiting for the golden hour, I had time to think about why I am a landscape photographer. 

While I might from time to time have thought any of those was correct, none are the most honest answer for me.  It's been just a few days since I sat on the cold bench. My thoughts are being reaffirmed as I sit listening to the wind whip the sides of my truck top tent as a snowstorm approaches over the Sierras. There has to be a reason why a photographer goes through such conditions just to get a shot. I will to the best reason to participate in landscape photography after telling you why the rest aren’t number one.

Yes, I have loved nature from early family camping trips, Boy Scouts, and just standing by a stream enjoying the relaxing splashes from the small waterfalls leading to the pools of fish I rarely catch. And I do believe our Creator is God who loves us and has given us an amazing task to caretake our earth. But to tell the truth, I can’t even comprehend the enormity of nature’s offerings, so I rarely attempt the effort. 

Creativity. Certainly. Whether composing in the field or making an image pop on the computer, this is a joy. There is somewhat of a style that I can call my own. As a dentist, my creativity was limited by patient goals and my desire to mimic nature, not interpret it. When patients wanted something unnatural it usually meant white and fake looking, and often shapes that weren’t natural. But in photography we can discover new ways to look at the normal rather than invent new normals. This still isn’t numero uno though.

Spending time alone is valuable for all of us. We can meditate, pray and reset goals. It’s great for getting oneself centered. The only thing that can get a person centered faster than being alone is having a wife encourage the centering. That works for guys because a warm dinner is far better than a cold shoulder.

Most of the time we relax as photographers. But photography can also be about as relaxing as a bad round of golf…for me, most rounds of golf. Every landscape photographer has had dead batteries, forgotten filters, missed action, wrong settings and sleep  lost. And worst of all, a friend who got the shot and when you didn’t. Relaxation definitely isn’t why I do this.

As to selling one’s photography, most experienced photographers sell their work. That is, to friends and relatives at a price that doesn’t even pay for the gas for the next trip. Most photographers who make a living from photography supplement their print sales by giving workshops or shooting weddings or portraits. Introverted photographers turn out to not be such great print salesmen and are happy if they can just sell enough to justify another toy in the camera bag each year. A starving artist doesn't sell much and can barely afford paint. A starving photographer doesn't sell much and can not afford gas money, new lenses, prints, photo workshops and more.

While I don’t live for social media, I do post images every week or two and get more than one or two likes. Yes it feels good. But I believe it is recognizing where the likes come from that is more important. And that gets me to the biggest reason for my photography.

So here it is. Connection. That’s why I like photography. I’m out on a two day trip by myself as I write this and I’m missing my best photographer friend, Barbara. And I only left home this morning! But Barbara isn’t my only connection. Like most men, I am not a joiner and especially not an organizer. But I do love to join others. I have done so often with buddies I have met through dentistry or at photo workshops. These guys and gals help me feel connected…to life, to the earth and to myself. I could not be doing this without them.  

This past week, one of those buddies was diagnosed with brain cancer. He now lies in a bed recovering from a twelve hour surgery by the most skilled hands in the country. Our plans to shoot together may be over. I know he feels that potential loss as much as his other shooting buddies and I do. I don’t pray for a suitable replacement as replacing one human being with another is not the way it works for me. He fills a hole that will be permanently filled by his personality as it worked in and on my life. Photography has been a medium to help the connection happen. If photography is gone for us, I know there is comfort in the connection that will remain.

RS