Should landscape photos use artificial elements?

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I have been photographing the scenery for many years. During this time, I always try to capture a landscape without any signs of human existence. It must be a pure original landscape, even if it is located in the middle of a small town or beside a highway.

My favorite scenery is the one I imagined. The scenery untouched by human beings is rough and wild. There are mountains and forests. The river flows through the grass, and the water is sparkling, reflecting the sun. The mysterious scenery is like a dark fairy tale. These are the sights I read in my favorite science fiction writer Jack Vance's book. Yes, of course, these are all the scenery I want to take on foot.

However, there are not many original landscapes here-at least not in the Netherlands and neighboring countries. There are signs of civilization everywhere, although the word "civilization" sounds a bit misplaced. I call it a sign of human existence.

There is a road through this land. Power lines cross the earth and wind turbines rise from the horizon. Even the sky itself is full of artificial clouds, and these artificial Yun Qi originated from the condensation traces of countless airplanes.

I often try to put these signs of human existence outside the framework and look for scenery from my imagination. There is only one big problem with these landscapes. If I succeed in filming them without human factors, they will lose their perspective.

A photograph is a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional world. This photo has no depth; It just shows the illusion of depth. This illusion can be realized by the front position, depth of field and the relative size of the foreground object and the background. Put a beautiful flower in the foreground and a mountain in the background, and the illusion of depth will be completed. And it may mislead you.

With mountains as the background and a simple rock in the foreground. In this case, there is no way to know how big the rocks are in reality. This is due to the lack of perspective. There is nothing in this photo that can tell you the actual size. In some cases, the photos of the scenery may not be as impressive as the real scenery.

Using familiar things in the picture can give the audience a sense of size and size. The simplest method is a sign of human existence. Most of these man-made buildings have well-known dimensions. Add at least one recognizable artificial elements to the picture frame to give the landscape a sense of size.

However, human factors in the landscape have another advantage. I noticed how it helped the audience imagine what it would be like to walk in that kind of scenery. It gives the audience something worth seeing, rather than a landscape without any sense of human existence and scale. However, the recognizable artificial elements in the landscape can also be used as the theme and anchor to keep the audience in the picture.

This human factor can be everything-a house or hut, a farm or a castle. It can be the outline of a church on the horizon, or even a wind turbine. Maybe you can find a way across the landscape to the horizon. If you put a person in a photo frame, the photo can not only give people a three-dimensional sense, but also tell a story. Perhaps this is why many landscapes show lonely globetrotters in pictures.

Scenery selfie is a lonely person looking at the scenery, who fills an important part of the picture. This is a scenic photo with a story, even a memory of the place you have been.

Typical scenery selfie. It provides something to stick to, but it also tells a story. By the way, it's me in the photo, bearing the warm memories of that time. This means a lot to me.

Another landscape selfie is a person or a person in the landscape. They are part of the landscape, occupying only a small part of the frame. These people often give people a sense of landscape dimension. They show the audience how big this landscape is.

This is also the reason why I chose to capture the signs of human existence in the picture. I think it brings added value to the landscape. But this is not always the case. Although I see the benefits of human factors in the framework, in many cases, the original concept of the original landscape is a better choice. In other words, artificial elements will only join if it is suitable for taking photos.

How to treat the signs of human existence in landscape photos? Do you like those scenic photos? What do you think of landscape selfies? Should we avoid these photos? Please share your opinion in the comments below.