Rural Landscape Photography

A Rural Landscape photograph is an image of a rural/countryside or natural area, which tend to be less built-up which gives the images a primary focus on nature.

Rural Landscapes Moodboard

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Ansel Adams

Adams was born on the 20th February 1902, he was considered one of the most important and influential landscape photographers of the 20th century. He worked as a photographer and environmentalist who used his photography to promote the conservation of untouched natural areas, he also worked to promote photography as a fine art to the general public. Adams was considered a talented and technical photographer who ‘revelled in the theory and practice of the medium’. He worked in several national parks over his life-long photographic career in order to promote their conservation and as a result, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. Adams was a key advisor in the setting up of the photography department in the Museum of Modern Art, as well as various other awards for his photographic and conservational work, he also founded the Aperture photographic magazine.

Image Analysis

This image is in black and white (likely due to the restrictions of the technology at the time), which allows the darker and lighter parts of the image, namely the darker trees/mountain base and lighter river/sky, to have a greater contrast between each other. This lack of colour also gives the image a more ‘epic’ (perhaps ‘romantic’) atmosphere about it, especially in the clouds and jagged shape of the mountain. This image uses the river not only as a way to give the image more contrast, but also acts as a leading line towards the focal point: the mountain. This image also follows the rule of thirds, as the mountain (at around it’s highest point) is positioned on the top right of the image, it could also be argued that the river, which is positioned on the bottom left, acts as a focal point, as it is arguably the brightest part of the image. The sky in this image appears to be cloudy, this would mean that the lighting would be not as strong as if the weather was clearer. This gives the overall image a darker look, however there are little to no shadows apparent in the image, giving the image a clearer look. This image was likely taken from a high vantage point, allowing trees to appear in the foreground, while also showing much of the river, which leads into a mountain which, due to the high vantage point as well as distance, can be fully seen with enough room to breath.

Perhaps the meaning behind this image is to promote the conservation of the natural landscapes within the world by using nature’s beauty to inspire people.