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Nature/Landscape

The dominance of nature images and landscape photos

Even long before the invention of the camera and modern photography, man has always had a special reverence for attachment to and enchantment with the beauty of his natural environment. The glorious sight of sunrise and sunset, the elegance of lush verdant fields, and the graceful gait of wildlife all appealed to our ancestors' aesthetic senses. It is no surprise that human portrayals of their natural environment in landscape art date back to ancient times.

With the advent of modern photography, representations of nature have maintained their relevance as many are drawn to the genre for several reasons, including its therapeutic serenity, meditative quality, and sheer aesthetic appeal.

From microscopic photographs of cells to snapshots of leaves, gardens, animals, mountain ranges, deserts, plains, and celestial bodies, landscape and nature photos depict and document the beauty of man's natural environment. In the literal sense, the sky is the limit for the choice of scenes. Models and special costumes and special props are not required at all. Anywhere outdoors can serve as a landscape photo shoot object, whether in a tropical rainforest, on the beach or coastline, among the sand dunes of a desert, or a snow-capped mountain range.

The term "landscape" comes from the Dutch word "landschap", which can mean "portion or piece of land". The photographer showcases the features of the great outdoors, conveying certain feelings and emotions to the viewer by his choice of setting, object, and mood. This genre of photography is particularly appealing to writers of travelogues and persons wishing to document and preserve observed natural phenomena.

Apart from its aesthetic quality, landscape photos have also proved a potent weapon in the hands of environmentalists and nature conservationists. For example, the work of American landscape photographer William H. Jackson helped influence the U.S government to establish the country's first national park in 1872.

While the terms "nature photography" and "landscape photography" are often used interchangeably, the major difference between the duo is the fact that while the former focuses on close-range photos of animals and wildlife, the latter deals with shots of plains, lakes, skylines of cities, rivers etc. taken from a wide-angle. In simpler terms, while a nature photographer will take a picture of a flower, a landscape photographer would shoot the entire garden as well as the hills in its background.

Different types of nature images and landscape images

The main categories of nature images and landscape images are representational and abstract.

Representational photography

Also known as straight photography, this is concerned with presenting a natural and realistic depiction of landscape and natural features without manipulation by the photographer. The aim is to present nature as it is. This system is favoured by people who use landscape and nature photography for the purpose of scientific observation.

Abstract Photography

This mode aims at stimulating the viewers' thoughts and feelings by deliberately removing features that carry recognizable significance from the picture and employing factors such as line, alterations of form, manipulation of colour, texture etc.

Abstract nature and landscape photography are designed to confound and awe viewers, forcing them to make an emotional response to it. To achieve this, the photographer manipulates the picture in such a manner as to give it an ethereal or unreal look.

Nature images and landscape photographs may also be categorized by the content of the photograph. Examples include

Cityscape or Urbanscape:

This deals with photos depicting the physical features of metropolises or cities. As people living in urbanized areas may not have natural features such as streams and forests around, landscape photographers take pictures of man-made structures such as ranges of high-rise buildings and skyscrapers, roads and bridges, skylines etc. Importantly, these nature images are taken outdoors and with a wide focus, aiming to cover more objects than one. While humans may be involved in the picture, they are not its centre of attraction.

Urbanscape photos are the best shot from elevated standpoints such as rooftops, the windows of skyscrapers and other tall structures, bridges, drones or aircraft. This gives the photo the lovely panoramic scope for which cityscapes are famous. Photographers may capture the hustle and bustle of the city by deploying slow shutter speeds and long exposures in other to present vehicles in motion in a blur. Furthermore, night shots of the city bathing in the glory of a thousand and one electric lights can also be classic.

Coastal Photography or Seascapes

This involves capturing the glamour of marine phenomena with the lens of the camera. A seascape photographer shoots photos of waves, coral reefs, tides etc. Fast shutter speeds are often utilized to capture the waves' motion as they hit the shores.

While this type of nature images or landscape photos are best taken at sunset or as the sun rises in order to catch the glamorous effect of the waning or rising sunlight on the water, pictures of the sea at night under the golden light of the moon can also be enchanting. Furthermore, aquatic life such as dolphins and seagulls may also be incorporated into nature images.

Importantly, seascape photographers must monitor weather forecasts to check for conditions such as water temperature, storms, and the altitude of clouds, all of which directly affect seascape photography.

Mountainscapes

Be it the snow-capped Alps or a sand-covered desert mountain range in America or North Africa, mountains are always perfect scenes for stunning landscape photos. Their rugged monstrosity surrounded by the air of serenity and adventure they exude render their depictions irresistible. With a good understanding of the right use of foreground, light, colour, perspective, and other factors, mountainscapes can produce fantastic pictures of their subject.

Cloudscapes

These involve taking nature images of the sky or clouds. The different patterns of cloud formation and the reflection of the celestial lights on them can produce scenes for stunning pictures. Cloudscapes, though often taken at sunrise or sunset, can be taken at any time of the day and in all weather conditions.

Forestscapes

Haunting, mysterious and yet tranquil and lovely, the forest is a quite popular choice of scenery for many wishing to take landscape photos. Forestscapes are best taken in the early morning when the jungle air is foggy, and the dew is fresh on the grass. Waterfalls, gigantic trees, exotic plants, jungle streams, valleys e.t.c are particularly attractive to forestscapers. Wildlife can also be incorporated into the picture to heighten its aesthetic quality.

Astrophotography

Not confined to the bounds of the planet, nature and landscape photographers have also turned their attention to the celestial bodies, and since the moon was first imaged in 1840, more and more of them have undertaken the photographing of objects in space both for scientific and aesthetic purposes. With the invention of more powerful cameras able to get more accurate photos of faraway stars and planets, this field has attracted a greater following. Objects of interest to astrophotographers range from stars to planets and galaxies.

Desertscape

Vast, barren and enchanting, the desert presents excellent scenes for shooting landscape photos. Its exciting shapes, dazzling golden brown emptiness and iconic dunes are just the perfect scenery for beautiful snapshots. If you wish to travel to the desert to make some beautiful desertscapes yourself, however, you must be warned that the desert can be a very difficult place to be in both because of its inhospitable climate but also the unstable nature of sand dunes which seriously impedes the process of finding compositions.

Aerial landscape photography

This system involves taking snapshots from above the earth's surface using hot air balloons, aircraft or drones specially fitted with powerful cameras. This "birds-eye-view" mode is particularly useful in taking panoramic shots of difficult terrain such as mountain ranges.

Popular nature images and landscape photos on PhotoAC

If you love nature images and landscape photos and you're wondering where one can find them, you're in luck! photoAC has thousands of free stock nature images and landscape photos from the genre for you to download and enjoy! photoAC's amazing collection of nature and landscape photos are of the highest quality and free for you to access, download and use for whatever you want. Some of the types of nature images and landscape photos available include

- Flower Images

- Nature background in different seasons

- Beach images (including aerial photos)

- Sky images

- Forest images

Whichever of these categories of nature images and landscape photos you desire, photoAC offers you at absolutely no cost!

How to use nature images and landscape photos creatively

There are many different ways in which you can utilize the nature images and landscape photos that photoAC offers you. Some of these include

For Digital Device Home screen

Your device's home screen is the first thing you see whenever you pick up your device. For this reason, it is important to use beautiful pictures as your screen saver. Nature images and landscape photos are a perfect fit for the job as their serenity and tranquillity will help inspire and motivate you. photoAC has a fantastic collection of amazing nature and landscape snapshots that would beautify your digital device's home screen and increase your connection with nature.

For Website

Your choice of images for your website goes a long way in determining the extent to which your business will succeed, as clients are no doubt drawn to websites with the more appealing aesthetic quality. It is important to choose high-quality images for your website's background and its banner adverts, and the images in the website's header.

Landscape photos and nature images are ideal for use in your website as they are universally applicable to all sorts of businesses, regardless of whether you are running a large import company or a small tech startup. Furthermore, there is no risk of offending potential patrons as nature and landscape images appeal to people from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds.

Wide, sweeping mountain ranges can serve as good images for your website background, and serene sky images can be utilized for the website's header images. All these types of nature images, landscape photos, and more are available on photoAC.

For Social Media

In today's increasingly globalized world, social media has become one of the most important avenues for people to market their businesses, connect with friends and family, and build social networks.

With the tons of glamourous pictures which are circulated on social media every day, something aesthetically out of the ordinary is required to make people pause scrolling through their newsfeeds and take notice. On photoAC, you can find thousands of nature images and landscape photos that can help you achieve this effect on your viewers. A picture of an enchanting garden of beautiful flowers or a serene snapshot of a forest at dawn is sure to draw spectators' attention and to show them your exquisite taste and connection with nature.

For Wallpaper

Another way in which you can utilize nature and landscape photos is by using them as your wallpaper. A picture of a magnificent sunrise, for instance, will no doubt put you in the right mood as you carry on your tasks. On photoAC, there are thousands of charming pictures which you can use for this purpose.

For Slideshow

Slideshows or presentations which are carried out with the aid of photographic slides stand to benefit a lot from nature images and landscape photos.

As most presentations, especially those of an academic nature, are heavily text and data-based, there is always the risk that the slideshows could become monotonous and boring. Infusing nature and landscape images into the slideshow presentation will help to inject life into the slides and reduce its level of monotony.

Moreover, as nature images and landscape photos are neutral in nature, they are universally applicable and can be used for any presentation regardless of topic or field. Nature images of a waterfall in a tropical jungle, for instance, would certainly help lighten the monotony of a boring statistical presentation. Such photos and more can be found at photoAC, which has thousands of royalty-free nature images and landscape photos that you can download and enjoy.