[purplebyron]

well its a massive question and i guess the answer if formulaic would make every landscape picture a hit ... i am about to ramble on about ideas etc and opinions in a roundabout sort of way, which leads me to my first attempt to what makes a good landscape pic .... i believe it has something to do with a journey for the eye and mind in the way of an effortless fly through of interest and twisting and turning of ideas and thoughts, a kind of mini holiday for the eye, i believe the image on the first moment of viewing should be easily accessible and then once in, the viewer must be led around like a kid in a sweet shop by interesting line, form, colours and textures also the image must be more than the sum of its parts........ ok this might be just the makings of a good landscape picture or indeed might include just a few of the criteria i have listed, but i still think the excellent landscape pic transcends everything ...it is and always will be a moment that elevates an interesting place and moment into an almost spiritual, fantasy land that will seriously enlighten the viewer, this can only be possible by some magical moment in time ... its funny how most excellent landscapes are most often taken around transistional times of day where lighting is unpredictable and inspirational, by this i mean by an example of dawn, dusk, moonlight or perhaps a storm ... a situation where the uncommon, moving, sinister etc can be revealed through the above list
i dont want to fall into the trap of going intothe old master painters and getting bogged down by the picturesque and the sublime and the inclusion that every painting has to have a mountain , three cows, a farm labourer of some kind etc etc .. we could study a classic lanscape scene and ponder its qualities till the preverbial three cows come home but i think it is just a magic moment in time seen and realised .. but able to talk and allow access to a third party view ... how difficult it is to seperate the magical moment of taking a picture that has so much sentiment for the photographer and to convey this to the viewer ......... have i been able to do this .... absolutely not .... am i an accomplished landscape photographer .... absolutely not ... but one day maybe i will be walking at a special place at a special time and have a camera ready with a tripod and realise -through and with the aid of all the failed attempts so far- a good landscape image that i and others will enjoy
i might just add that there are some things, like thirds that might be considered as important factors in composition, but to state this as fact is fool hardy and wrong ... filters/ neutral density and polarizers are helpful but again to state that these are absolute would be just plain wrong, But i would say that copying and looking at other landscape artists work can only better ones attempt at the arcadian visual dream .