(http://www.ehow.com/facts_6772585_definition-landscape-photography.html)
This is the definition of landscape photography taken from the ehow website, stating that landscape photography "attempts to state a moment in nature" to then show something "special and spectacular" about it. Landscape photography has changed over the years from the traditional Ansel Adams black and white film images to the dead-pan aesthetic of Bernd and Hilla Bercher.
Winding Towers, Belgium, Germany, Bernd and Hilla Bercher, 1971-91 Silver Gelatin Print
Landscape imagery has recently taken on a documentary role of showing man taking back the land and the affects that nature has on it, for example Robert Polidori's work shows the aftermath of disasters, one of his recent works being that of the floods in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina hit.
5417 Marigny Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 2006
Although still in a digital age, with landscape becoming more commercial, there is a still a use for wide format film cameras that can capture vast landscapes that normal people wouldn't normally get to see. Landscapes can still be produced digitally with post production, making it easier to document changes in the landscape and events that happen over time.
Although this genre of photography is becoming more commercial in the way that the focus of the public is more on the environment and how we are affecting it, it is still an art form in it's own way. This can be seen by the way that people are still making images using large film cameras to produce well printed images, that can be shown in a gallery. The downside of this is that the image itself costs alot to make and may not create alot of profit from it or interest in the themes behind the image.
The original idealist landscape is dieing out do to how much the land has changed and how much technology has developed. Film isn't as strong as it used to be, making it harder people using film to make a profit and get their images seen. There is also the time aspect in that the change in weather and access to the land due to restrictions if the land is privately owned can stop the photographer from getting the image that they want to achieve.
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