Hi Jon!
I would make the argument, based entirely on my own experience, that photographing a wider range of subjects will—and does—make you a better landscape photographer…
When I left Intel, in response to the advice of a mentor who suggested I’d never make it as a landscape photographer, I photographed everything but weddings, funerals, and babies—and landscapes. I photographed jewelry, senior portraits, landscape architecture, buildings, home interiors, food, soccer, golf—I don’t know anything about soccer or golf! I eventually stopped investing my time in commercial work and shifted back into scenic nature photography. And I brought everything I learned from all of those different types of photography with me into my landscapes…
Photographing food made me a more deliberate composer. When we set design for six hours placing every little napkin and toothpick and mirror, then I got 33 seconds to photograph food before it melts or contorts or falls apart, I became incredibly detail-oriented in designing my landscape frame before I shoot it.
Photographing street photographing introduced me to continuous shot mode and “hail Mary’s” (a technique where you don’t look through the viewfinder while making a photograph). I use continuous shot mode with a hail Mary approach while hand-holding my low-to-the-ground macro compositions in the wind to make sure I get at least one frame in focus.
Photographing wildlife helped me understand how to see and continuously focus on moving water better. It also reminded me that humans connect with eyes and follow the gaze within a composition. I apply that same idea to my rocks, trees, bubbles—they too have “spirits” and have gazes that I need to consider within my arrangements.
Photographing the interior of houses forced me to make sure all my shadows were going the same direction while using flash. While I don’t incorporate flash into my scenes much these days, I am better at seeing shadow and direction of shadow in the landscape especially while using a reflector or diffuser.
I’d broaden this beyond photography. Standup paddleboarding taught me how to read water better which means I see more interesting water-based subjects. Painting taught me how to convey a better sense of depth in my images through lines, layers, light, and Notan. Learning how to play percussion take me rhythm in my writing.
If you’re mindful about collecting raw material for use in the creative process and making new associations, however unlikely or unexpected, these experiences will all influence your landscape photography work. I’d challenge you to list out what you know about wildlife photography, for example, and how that knowledge can benefit your landscapes. I do the same for your flower photography.
By the way, according to the purest definition of landscape photography, it includes anything, big or small, in the landscape. It can even include humans and manmade objects within the landscape. So that’s a pretty broad bucket…
My landscape photography focus can best be summed up as “squirrel!” I make photographs of ANYTHING that was meaningful to me in that moment. I don’t care what it’s called. So forget about the labels. Focus on what brings you joy. Tame the voices in your head saying you should do something else (because why?!?). And never, ever stop learning.
If you want to get better at photography in general, I’d recommend learning more about things like Gestalt psychology, human perceptions, visual design, using natural light, optical illusions to create depth, etc. (stuff we’ve talked about on workshops.) These are foundational ideas that apply to any type of expressive photography. If you want to narrow your focus, narrow it onto a specific technique or idea as it pertains to landscape photography. Practice it in a variety of scenarios in the landscape and otherwise until it becomes second-nature to you. Try ICM with wildlife photography. Try flash with flower photography. Try shooting landscapes with long lenses and shallow depth of fields. What happens? And how could you apply it to your broad landscape work?
But make sure you’re having fun doing it.
Keep shooting, Jon! Long live Team Chaos!
