Landscapes of nature vertical. The most beautiful landscapes

Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of nature in all its manifestations. Mostly mountains, valleys, trees, rivers and forests. The main feature is the presence of a wide view, as well as its elements located in a coherent composition. There are different types of landscape, including rural and urban, sea and river, religious and futuristic.

Types of landscape: the essence

The most popular element of any landscape is the sky. The weather in all its manifestations is also part of the composition. Landscape views in art can be completely imaginary (imaginary) or copied from reality with varying degrees of accuracy. If the main purpose of an image is to display an actual, defined location, especially buildings, then it will be called a topographic (realistic) view.

The concept of "landscape"

In the visual arts, the term "landscape" comes from the Dutch word landchap(a piece of land) and describes any painting or drawing whose main subject is a depiction of a picturesque view. Examples include grasslands, hills, mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, forests, coastal views, and seas. The painting may be a depiction of a real place, or it may be an imaginary or idealized scene.

The recognition of nature and its choice as a particular subject of art is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the 17th century, the landscape was limited to the backgrounds of portraits or paintings devoted mainly to religious, mythological or historical illustrations. Today, the beautiful view of the landscape continues to be a major theme in art.

Landscape through the ages

In the work of the 17th century artists Claude Lorraine and Nicholas Poussin, the landscape background began to dominate the demonstration of historical events. However, their treatment of the landscape was somewhat stylized or artificial. They tried to take on the scenery of Greece and Rome, and their work became known as classical landscape. At the same time, some Dutch artists such as Jacob van Ruysad were developing a much more naturalistic form of painting based on what they saw around them.

When the arts were classified by the French Academy in the seventeenth century, landscape was placed fourth in importance among the five genres. Nevertheless, landscape painting became increasingly popular in the 18th century, despite the predominance of classical motifs.

Landscape and its position in the hierarchy of genres

Landscape was an established genre in Chinese art by the fourth century AD, but in Western art, landscape painting dates back to the era of Renaissance art in the sixteenth century. Of course, many artists from Roman times and earlier included picturesque landscapes and views of nature in their paintings, but they were auxiliary elements of the main theme of the picture. The main problem with landscape was that it was very low in the academic distribution of genres.

The hierarchy of fine arts in the Renaissance was as follows:

1. Historical painting.
2. Portrait art.
3. Painting, that is, scenes from everyday life.
4. Scenery.
5. Still life.

These rankings were finally set out in 1669 by the secretary of the French Academy, André Félibien. Thus, the art world, including its patrons, teachers, and artists, did not take landscape painting seriously and ascribed great value to historical works, portraits, and genre paintings. The neoclassical and academic schools followed Greek art in giving primacy to the human body, especially the nude.

The boom of naturalistic landscape drawing

The nineteenth century saw a veritable surge in naturalistic landscape design, driven in part by the notion that nature is a direct manifestation of God, and in part by the growing alienation of many people from nature due to increasing industrialization and urbanization. As a result, the traditional hierarchy of genres collapsed.

Landscape painters of the 19th century entered into a large-scale romantic movement, it was at this time that landscape painting finally became a worthy genre in the art academies of Europe and became widespread throughout the world. In the second half of the twentieth century, the definition of landscape was called into question. The genre expanded into urban and industrial landscapes, and artists began to use less traditional mediums when creating landscape works.

Three types of landscape art

A painting or photograph that depicts nature is called landscape art. While each artist has their own style, the genre is generally grouped into three broad categories:

• Representational landscape art is the most basic genre. The details do not use special colors or filters to create an unrealistic effect. In contrast, representational landscape art focuses on the natural beauty of nature and paints a realistic picture of the subject.
• Impressionist landscape art focuses on depicting a realistic scene in an almost unrealistic light. This is achieved through several methods, including separating the foreground from the background using soft focus, using unusual lighting techniques, or including saturated, bright, or unnatural colors. Impressionist landscape art largely responds to the eye of the artist or photographer and the ability to create a stunning natural image.
• Abstract landscape art relies less on the environment of the landscape and more on the representation of the main subject of the image. In the abstract part, the landscape can be the background, while the foreground can be the focus on one component, such as an unusually shaped tree branch or the shadow of a large object.

Each style has its own characteristics, varying colors, lighting and props. In landscape paintings, as a rule, additional elements are added in addition to the landscape itself. Traditionally, these are animals and people. The purpose of the landscape piece is to showcase the natural beauty of nature, whether soothing, violent or surreal.

natural scenery

Landscape painting refers to a work of art in which the main focus is on the image of nature (mountains, forests, rocks, trees, rivers, valleys, etc.). The earth is a marvelous creation, from barren deserts to lush rainforests, from endless oceans to cloudy skies. Throughout history, artists have found inspiration in the mysterious beauty of nature and the grandeur of the Earth's diverse landscapes.

Cityscape: views of the cityscape

Landscape paintings are not limited to images of the earth and nature. For example, they may also include images of buildings, streets, bridges. This type of landscape is called urban. His sketches may include various historical or contemporary objects. Types of urban landscape are determined in accordance with what is shown in the picture. One of the most attractive are images of palaces and castles, religious monuments, as well as residential buildings of the 17th-19th centuries.

Rural and park landscape

When nature and the results of conscious human activity meet together, a certain dissonance is bound to arise. But there is an environment where these two conflicting parties are able to agree among themselves and achieve a relative balance. First of all, it is the countryside and landscape parks, where nature is complemented by architectural elements. The rural landscape has been one of the most popular landscape themes of all time. Artists depicted a house on a hill or near a pond, green meadows with grazing sheep, country roads, and so on.

topographic landscapes

Flat objects differ from three-dimensional three-dimensional objects that have length, width and height. One of the options for depicting a landscape is that the image is given a more or less clearly defined relief. This type of landscape is called topographic or sculptural.

documentary landscapes

Another type of landscape painting is documentary landscapes depicting scenes from everyday life. The included figures of people deserve no less attention than trees or houses. On the one hand, they add life to the composition, on the other hand, they emphasize the size of the surrounding space in comparison with a person.

Landscapes with animals

A distinctive feature of the landscape is that with their help a feeling of peace, contentment and harmony is created. However, wildlife is a continuous movement. Trees, plants, rain, wind - these are all dynamic and changeable factors, in this regard, it is quite natural to place animals among them as an integral part of all wildlife.

The views can be very different: the mood landscape symbolizes the lyrical coloring of feelings, the architectural one is very reminiscent of the city, the sea (marina) and river show the endless beauty of the water landscape. The historical and heroic types are associated with great warriors, mythical heroes and gods. The decorative landscape serves as an excellent interior decoration. There is no set number of species. Depending on the artist's vision, industrial landscapes (city views), epic, romantic or even cosmic landscapes are distinguished.

The main feature of this genre of fine art is that the main subject of the image is nature in its original form or transformed by man.

The famous American photographer Ansel Adams, who became famous all over the world for his black and white landscape shots, once said: “Landscape photography is the main test for the photographer and often his main disappointment.” And this, perhaps, is the truth. How often we, noticing a beautiful view, believe that it is enough just to start on the shutter button, capture what we see - and you will get a masterpiece. However, a masterpiece most often does not work out, because in a landscape photographer it is not enough to be just a mirror for nature, he must learn to express himself through the landscape.

Photographer Declan O'Neil shared his 10 secrets to creating expressive landscape photos.

1. What can you say about the landscape through photography?

It takes time to read and understand the landscape. You just have to stand and watch how the light changes contours and shapes. As the sun moves, forests and rivers are illuminated every minute in a completely new way and sometimes completely transformed. Light creates its own mood and emotion in the landscape. The landscape can be compared to a huge canvas on which light paints its complex and amazing picture.

In this case, photography is about capturing how light transforms a landscape. Therefore, the decision about what to photograph and what composition to build should be dictated by the question: “Does this photograph say something about light and landscape?” This simple question helps to reject a lot of losing and empty compositions and choose the one that is perfect.

2. Learn to get up early!

If I have a choice between sunrise and sunset, I always choose sunrise. I have nothing against sunset photos, but I find it difficult to add something new and original to the thousands of sunset shots that I have already seen. Dawn light, on the contrary, always brings surprises! It is very difficult to predict what exactly you will receive while you stand and wait in the predawn darkness.

It's kind of like taking pictures of wild animals - because you can get the shot you've always dreamed of, or get none at all. Dawn light can be completely different - from smoky pink to warm yellow.

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts - because if you happen to live in areas with cold nights and clear skies, you can sometimes catch amazing effects of cloudiness and haze that will surely dissipate by the time the rest of the world wakes up.

3. Imperfection is good.

One of the main challenges of landscape photography is that you have to deal with a huge dynamic range. This makes it very difficult to control the balance of light in the frame. ND filters sometimes help, but are often inconvenient or inappropriate for a particular place and time. Sometimes you have to completely abandon shooting due to too large a dynamic range.

You can, of course, use HDR technologies, but they most often give themselves away and can violate the integrity and honesty of the image. Many images can be light balanced when processed on a computer. However, sometimes photography only benefits from not being able to capture the full dynamic range. Most likely, such a photo will not be accepted for participation in various competitions, and for sure there will be sections in it from which it will be impossible to isolate at least some details. Perhaps, technically, the photograph will turn out to be very poor, but a black silhouette on a light background very often unimaginably attracts attention to itself and seems to call for a closer look. Sometimes you have to give up the opportunity to capture a perfectly lit shot in order to draw attention to the potential of the subject itself.

4. Look back!

It's so easy to see the winning shot and forget to look around. Watching a sunset or sunrise, people usually point their lenses towards the sun and again take thousands of pictures, millions of which they have already seen from their friends or on the Internet. However, often it is enough just to look back to see something completely new and missed by everyone! After all, instead of photographing the rising or setting sun, you can capture what it illuminates at that moment.

The obvious shot is not always the best. Learn to look carefully.

5. Use planning software.

There are many programs that can help you when shooting outdoors. Perhaps one of the more useful ones is The Photographers Ephemeris. In short, it allows you to select any location on the planet - and shows you where the sun will be on any given day and at any particular time. In this way, you can choose the best day and time to shoot in a certain location and choose a specific shooting point with the most advantageous lighting. If you're serious about landscape photography, this is the tool you need.

Another tool that can help you a lot is a terrain map. A good map will help you predict what the landscape will look like and give you some idea of ​​what will be in your field of vision. The ability to understand these detailed topographic maps will help you save a lot of time and not travel around the area in search of that very - perfect shooting point!

6. Equipment is not that important.

The best equipment doesn't guarantee you the best pictures, just as the best pen won't automatically let you write that great novel you've always dreamed of. The equipment is just a device that allows you to convey to others what is in your head. If you have your own opinion and if you have something to say (see point 1) - then you can use anything from a smartphone to Nikon D800.

Remember that it is you who is composing your future shot, and the camera is just capturing it. More megapixels or a faster lens will never help you make a composition more expressive and full.

7. Don't try to "paint" the landscape with your camera.

On the Internet, photos that have undergone the strongest post-processing or created using ND filters that make water look like smooth silk have become more and more fashionable lately. Why not let nature express itself naturally? Believe me, she knows how to do it perfectly and without the use of all sorts of filters. The same goes for post-processing. If used sparingly, it helps to emphasize the natural beauty of nature, if overused - we are already starting to change the landscape and paint it completely different from what it really was.

Real photographs always leave their mark on our consciousness and subconsciousness. This is why heavily photoshopped, idealized images of landscapes often leave us cold. They tell a fictional, not a real story. We immediately notice the false orange sky and the oversaturated color of the grass. Photos can be metaphors, but they should be metaphors that appear in the mind of the viewer, not in the imagination of the photographer.

If you still want to convey your vision of how the landscape looked - perhaps you should try your hand at drawing?

8. Bad weather is good weather.

Clouds and rain are not the most inspiring weather conditions, but they bring with them opportunities much more interesting than any cloudless day. It takes patience and optimism to walk with a camera in the rain all day, but more often than not, you will be rewarded. If you look around carefully, you will certainly find amazing shots created by clouds and rain!

Nature ... Beautiful in all seasons, captivating the eye with its unusual views. It gives us beautiful landscapes that can cheer you up even on the gloomiest day, make you smile.

It is joyful to look at everything - snow-white winter paintings, freshness of spring greenery, bright summer colors, overflows. After all, it has long been known that "nature does not have bad weather."

Insanely nice to see sunsets, endless fields, mountain peaks, bottomless oceans, radiant skies. Pictures of wild animals, unusual birds, rare fish evoke emotion. The versatility of natural landscapes is simply immense!

All this causes incredible pride in the nature of not only Mother Russia, but the whole world! It makes it clear how wonderful the reality around us is and how magnificent our planet is. Today, your eyes will see high-resolution photos of nature, conveying its charms in the smallest detail.

Thanks to professional photographers and shooting in good quality, everything on them seems alive. You look at beautiful places collected from all over the world and feel unity with them, as if you had just been there yourself. You feel the coolness of a rainy day in autumn, you hear the waves of the sea surf, you inhale the floral aroma.

Natural landscapes evoke unusual and very joyful emotions in a person! To be constantly connected with nature, it is enough to download photos to your computer. To choose something from such a wide variety, of course, is not easy. After all, all images are uniquely interesting, it is impossible to compare them, and it is difficult to stop your preference at one moment, since each is beautiful in some way and is special in a special way.

You can install the theme with rainbow shades of autumn, pristine snow cover on your phone for free. Or decorate your desktop with the image of cute animals that harmoniously fit into beautiful landscapes. Or add to your home collection a photo of a meadow, completely strewn with flowers.

Many options and only the best pictures that reveal all the secrets of the nature of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and many other countries allow you to find something that will surely warm your soul.

This compilation combined something that in real life you can never cover in an instant. There is no line here that separates the majestic rocks from the plains, a sunny spring day from a forest strewn with fallen leaves, a sultry desert from icy ridges. For the first time, you can grasp the immensity with one glance.

Take a break from worries, household chores, fuss and plunge into the secrets of the nature of your native Russia, business Europe, hospitable Asia, the distant North Pole. Watch the life of animals, explore the magical places around the world. Do not forget to download them for free to your phone and desktop to create a special charm on the screen and always be on the same wavelength with the beautiful.

- a genre of fine art, the main task of which is to display the surrounding nature both in its original form, and in one way or another changed by man. Since photography is one of the fine arts, landscape photography fully complies with this definition. The main visual center of landscape photography is nature in all its manifestations.

Of course, the landscape, as a genre, appeared long before the invention of photography - in painting. And honed for centuries artistic means images of the landscape formed a number of necessary conditions that are mandatory for this genre of photography. Linear perspective , tonal (air) perspective, optical perspective,frame composition , light space And color - these are the main characteristics of landscape photography, capable of not only very accurately conveying the state of the surrounding nature at a certain point in time, but also highlighting semantic center image without the use of additional manipulative techniques. And despite the fact that in landscape photography the presence of people or animals in the frame is allowed, they are clearly assigned the role of staffing - an element of the landscape that exists to enliven the image and plays a secondary role in this image.

Landscape photography is essentially documentary photography about nature. According to the type of space depicted, landscape photography can be terrestrial, water, astronomical and meteorological. Terrestrial landscape photography depicts landscape, topography, and vegetation and is both rural and urban.

water landscape (seascape, marina) is an image of the water (sea) element.

astronomical landscape photography depicts the heavens (stars, constellations, sun, moon),

and meteorological - weather and precipitation (fog, rain, clouds, tornado, etc.).

According to the way of depicting space, landscape photography can be chamber and panoramic. Camera photography in this case does not imply a narrow circle of viewers, but expresses a purely technical characteristic - a small, narrow viewing angle of the depicted space.

panoramic landscape photography is the absolute opposite - it is a photograph, the viewing angle of which can often exceed 180 degrees.

According to the degree of perception by the viewer, the landscape can be, by analogy with music, minor or major. Tragic or solemn. Dull or cheerful. In solving this problem, the photographer comes to the rescue color theory, namely one of its sections - color psychology. Knowing what colors and how they affect the mind of the viewer, the photographer can adjust composition color balance landscape to achieve a specific result. At the same time, in a landscape, not always cold shades can create an atmosphere of hostility, and warm ones can create friendliness. Small colored vegetation against the background of black thunderclouds looks defenseless, and the picture as a whole causes a feeling of anxiety, while the cold Elbrus causes awe and delight with its grandeur.

Of course, several of the listed natural spaces and states can easily overlap in one image at the same time, but in this case it will be important for a landscape photographer to decide what exactly in this image is semantic center, and select this center using visual means — perspectives, compositions, Sveta, colors.

If there is no such center, then landscape photography is purely aesthetic, narrative-specific in nature and is used for decorative, scientific or journalistic purposes. It is to the category of aesthetic perception that landscape photography belongs. plein air- a true transfer in the image of nature of the colorful richness of color changes in natural conditions under the influence of sunlight and atmosphere.

If there is still a semantic center in landscape photography, then such a landscape will be charged with emotional-dramatic (or epic) energy and will acquire features artistic landscape photography.

Along with the mandatory conditions for creating landscape photography, there are a number of conditions that are specific in nature - dynamism , angle , detail. Considering that photography is a static and silent form of fine art, it is in a photographic landscape that it is most difficult to convey certain atmospheric phenomena with great accuracy. How to show a strong wind in a desert photo? How can mountain giants be depicted more majestically? It is in these cases that the landscape photographer is saved by knowledge about the dynamics of the frame, the point of shooting and the angle.

Widespread in our time travel landscape photography. Not being essentially a separate genre, travel landscape photography has become very popular due to both the availability of photographic equipment and the opportunity to visit the most remote corners of our planet.

The main feature of landscape photography is its accessibility. It does not require any scenery and staging tricks, it does not depend on the mood of the photo model and the preferences of the customer. It depends on the environment and weather conditions. And in this sense landscape photography unique. Whether it is a park or an alley within the city, or maybe a mountain range or a quiet expanse of a lake outside it - wherever you are, on vacation or on a business trip, in your country or abroad, it is everywhere - nature is amazing a natural space capable of changing shape, content and color every minute, day after day, all year round, for millennia... And even if a landscape photograph taken by you does not contain any semantic core, it will always be aesthetic, which means will always remind you of the essence and forms of beauty.

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