I think the criterion you mention--the observer of the photograph wanting to be there--describes a successful postcard or travel article illustration, both, of course, important forms of landscape photography. To me, however, a successful l andscape that goes beyond that level, really shows me things I might not have no ticed at all had I been there. Things like this might include: how particular sh adows fall into interesting patterns at a particular time of day, the dramatic c urve of a particular tree branch against a blurred background, or the way the cu rve of a little waterfall echoes the curve of a tree limb overarching it when se en from a particular angle. Seems to me that our job as landscape photographers is to make the natural world interesting even to people who may have already sto od more or less exactly where we stood but who didn't see what we saw. Therefore the tools we have that allow us to emphasize and isolate pattern are extraordin arily important. These include such things as longer focal length lenses, exposu re techniques like the zone system, and chemical or digital darkroom manipulatio n.
Tony Galt
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