minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Introduction
Marc Adamus is an American landscape photographer based in Oregon, though he travels worldwide to collect his images. His photographs have been published extensively in a large variety of media ranging from calendars, books, advertising and the publications of National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography and over a hundred more. He has won numerous landscape photography awards. Adamus was a pioneer of a particular style of grand landscape that is fairly easy to recognize, with rich saturated colors, dramatic skies and water, and impactful elements in focus from front to back of the frame. He has had a profound influence on much of the landscape photography that we see on sites like 500px.

Adamus' career has mirrored and been enmeshed with some of the controversy about photo editing, photoshop, and hyper-realistic images. Early in his career, he was quoted as denying the use of computer work in creating his imagery, insisting that his signature “look” was achieved entirely through shooting technique and physical filters. Someone even created a website accusing him of lying about his work. Now, about 10 years later, Adamus acknowledges his use of editing tools and teaches workshops on how to achieve that “look”. We have had similar battles on this website, with many members having strong feelings one way or the other about how much and what kind of editing is acceptable.

Though any of his images would have worked just as well, we are only asking you to review this one. Below are links to his other work, some articles about him, his technical approach, even some information about the great controversy that swirled around him some years ago. Here are some questions to help spur your thinking. Answer any that you find interesting.

Questions to Consider:

1. What do you think of this image? What about the composition? The color? The angle of shooting? The treatment of the flowing water? Would you want this on your wall? Why or why not?
2. Do you feel your own landscape photography has been influenced by this type of work? If so, please post an image and tell us about that.
3. What is your feeling about editing in landscape photography? How much is too much? Does Adamus cross that line for you? Is this an ethical issue or simply a matter of taste? Please explain.
4. How do you feel about copying another photographer’s techniques? Is that a form of intellectual property theft? What if you take an image at the same location and also copy the photographer’s technique? Share your thoughts.
5. Adamus travels the world looking for dramatic landscapes. Is that something that appeals to you? Do you find more inspiration when traveling to iconic locations, or when shooting in your own "backyard", the area you live in? I asked a similar question last month, and will post a thread on that topic soon.

Links For Further Study
https://www.marcadamus.com/page/bio/
https://iso.500px.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-landscape-photographer-marc-adamus/
http://marcadamus-lies.blogspot.com/2011/03/yet-another-lie-from-craven-coward-liar.html
https://tdn.com/lifestyles/corvallis-outdoorsman-makes-an-impact-as-nature-photographer/article_eefc2002-d539-57e1-b8b7-edccaec55b31.html
https://www.capturelandscapes.com/top-25-landscape-photographers-of-2018/
https://1x.com/magazine/the-wonders-of-nature-by-marc-adamus-7762

fair use: https://cedorsey.tumblr.com/post/112044627764/embrace-of-light-photo-credit-marc-adamus

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Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

1. I think this photo is stunning! I'm surprised that a slow shutter speed conveys such a strong sense of power and speed in the flow of the river. The angle at which shot, and the photographer's position, emphasizes that feeling, I guess. Yep, I'd hang it on my wall, particularly because I love the light, the snow and the rugged mountain.

2. I've never spent much time studying others' work, outside of UHH I'm more likely to be influenced by members here. But the journey has been wide-ranging.

3. There is no "issue" for me with regards to editing landscapes (or any other genre). If I'm viewing a gallery or museum collection, I'm going to assume that the photograph is art and therefore open to any and all manipulation by the artist.

I have a different opinion for forums such as Photo Gallery of UHH where there may be viewers who assume the photo is not manipulated because they favor the "sooc" approach or they are novices to pp and are unaware of some of the ways to determine extensive manipulation - such as sky replacement.

Having said that, I have certainly posted photo topics to Gallery where I did not explain edits in any detail. It's one of those "it depends" situations for me, where "extensive manipulation" is a fluid term

4. I think intellectual property theft would only be an issue when selling photos. I'm not familiar enough with the laws or any specific situations to say anything further. I would be most interested in hearing your own viewpoint, Minnie, with regards to your very distinctive work with "dam birds."

5. I've done so little traveling in the past decade that I can't relate. I do know I feel satisfaction in finding an unusual story in the commonplace, and I particularly enjoy seeing that kind of work on UHH. I'm much more likely to be impressed by someone with "the eye" rather than another familiar view of an iconic location. I'll have to investigate to see if there are any unfamiliar views of iconic locations around - would we know it's an iconic location if the view is too far from common? 🤔

Thank you so much for all your hard work each month with this series!

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

I spent quite a bit of time at the sites you linked to. That "Marc Adamus Lies" site is pretty funny, or so I thought. The controversy is probably good for his business.

There are so many profound contradictions around this photographer. He is more of a photoshop artist then he is a photographer. He says that there is no need to race around the world, just shoot what is near to you. Yet he clearly does race around the world to capture the unusual. He says his work is an expression of his appreciation of nature, yet his work is highly stylized and idealized. He feels a need to dramatically alter nature. Maybe he appreciates the possibilities found in nature for a basis for creating images he can them extensively work over in post and that will be popular and advance his business? That then becomes more a matter of exploiting nature, which is in opposition to appreciating nature.

In general I found his work to be freakishly unnatural and not to my taste. But he is going for a stylized representation of unusual and dramatic scenes, and he is succeeding at that.

1. The image you show here (one of his least enhanced images) is competently executed and attractive, and the processing is nicely done. I don't like the composition nor the point of view. I don't get what the subject is. The mountain? Everything I guess, in the wide angle lens "get it all in" school of landscape photography. The image is much stronger for me cropped so that the mountain is moved off to the side and there is not so much of the water.

The image is well done and I assume that he stood in freezing cold rushing water to get it, and you have to respect that!

2. I don't think my own landscape photography has been influenced by this type of work, but then I don't do much landscape photography. I am interested in seeing how people use focus bracketing and HDR.

3. Adamus crosses the line for me, and that is a matter of personal taste mostly I suppose. I don't have any objections to or ethical issues as far as the work goes. It just doesn't say much to me.

4. We certainly learn from each other, but copying another photographer seems silly.

5. I am not wild about people racing around the globe to add to their life bird list, nor with people running around to exotic locations for the purpose of getting images that are exciting and dramatic (in the eyes of the targeted demographic, for the purpose of ego building and dollar collecting.) We have an issue here now of competitive wild flower photography, believe it or not, with ardent strivers actually destroying rare plants after they shoot them so that no other photographer can get a shot of them.

So, "he travels the globe to exotic locations to get fantastic shots" holds little charm for me.

I don't think there are hard and fast rules for nature photography ethics nor for how much is too much when it comes to the alteration of nature images. It is, or should be, an ongoing discussion. Adamus is at one extreme - globe-hopping to get that great shot and doing extensive re-working of images in post - and I am closer to the other end of the scale.

Mike

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

1. What do you think of this image? What about the composition? The color? The angle of shooting? The treatment of the flowing water? Would you want this on your wall? Why or why not?

I love this image - It all works for me. I would not on my wall as I prefer to use the available space for images I have shot or, very ocassionally, of places we have been to that hold memories for us. (Like a panorama from Glacier Point in Yosemite Nation Park).

2. Do you feel your own landscape photography has been influenced by this type of work? If so, please post an image and tell us about that.

Yes, see the attached pic at iron cove, about 40minutes drive from where I live.

3. What is your feeling about editing in landscape photography? How much is too much? Does Adamus cross that line for you? Is this an ethical issue or simply a matter of taste? Please explain.

It is an artistic decision.

4. How do you feel about copying another photographer’s techniques? Is that a form of intellectual property theft? What if you take an image at the same location and also copy the photographer’s technique? Share your thoughts.

I don't see learning as a form of theft. Using the techniques to create your own images is ok. Duplicating another persons images is "dodgy" and in my book using another persons image in your own creations (epecially without attribution) is stealing.

5. Adamus travels the world looking for dramatic landscapes. Is that something that appeals to you? Do you find more inspiration when traveling to iconic locations, or when shooting in your own "backyard", the area you live in? I asked a similar question last month, and will post a thread on that topic soon.

It depends. Although I live in suburbia there are stunning locations, and not just landscapes, within two hours drive from home. It all depends on the light.
We have been fortunate to travel extensively in the distant past and if you can afford to spend the time (be a local?) it can be inspirational.
.

Iron Cove, Sydney, Australia

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minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks Linda for this detailed review.

I confess to enjoying the landscapes I see when traveling, and the images I find near home. I want to see
and try my hand with the iconic locations I've admired in the work of more expert photographers, but I also like exploring in new places near and far to see what I can find that hasn't been done to death.

As to the question of emulating others' pictures: I started my photo travel journey with a book by Tim Fitzharris that literally gave directions to the tripod spots where his favorite photos in a dozen national parks were taken, along with his camera settings and light conditions. It helped me begin to "think" like a photographer but I quickly outgrew the desire to reproduce his images (I couldn't anyway for various reasons). Now I seldom study others' photos in preparation for a trip, and tend to explore on my own.

With my dam birds, I have noticed some local photographers beginning to take photos there. Because location is only one element of that collection, the likelihood of copying is limited. The best bird photographer in the state, and probably one of the best in the nation, has taken his camera down there since my work was published, and though he gets much better bird photos than I get, they are nothing like what I do. He is well developed in his own style and has no need or wish to copy. I'm honored to see him work that area.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks, Mike, for sharing your thoughts on this one. Like you, I find Adamus overall to be a bit much. I can appreciate this particular photo more than some others of his, as it isn't quite as fiercely done. I followed his work when I started photography, and kind of like the "Lies" website writer, I was pretty sure he was doing something he wasn't owning up to, and was glad to see he finally moved past the denial.

When I look at a bunch of his images in a row, like I did for preparing this thread, they exhaust me with their drama. It's sort of like eating a whole bag of Hershey's kisses. I do see that he has had a major influence on the landscape photography of today's tastes.

And yes, the first thing I thought was, "where was he standing?" - in the freezing water in hip waders with a tether to tie him to a tree onshore? Or perhaps on a little bridge...

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks Richard for taking on these questions! I agree with you entirely about the prerogative of the artist to interpret the photos he/she shoots in the way they choose. The viewer has the prerogative to like or dislike the work. That's how art works! Of course we could then argue whether photography is art or craft..

Love your picture, and yes, it reflects that influence, with its dramatic lighting and rich colors.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Very interesting to know this, and an excellent point about your vision and interpretation - it goes far beyond location, location, location

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Richard, your photo is as engaging to me as the one in the OP. Beautiful!

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Thanks very much.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Thanks, Linda.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Good comments, and I like your image a lot.

Mike

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Thank you.

srt101fan

I'm in near total agreement with the sentiments expressed by Mike (Blenheim Orange). He basically said what I wanted to say but expressed it much better than I would have - "freakishly unnatural" work indeed!

Exaggeration in visual and audio "artistic" offerings is apparently the norm these days. I was reminded of that again watching the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. As my wife noted, with the massive amount of decoration they didn't even need a tree - you can't see it!

Sorry to be so negative, minniev. I just think overcooked landscapes are fine for Cecil B. DeMille productions and Lord of the Rings movies. I just don't want them on my wall.....

Another stimulating topic. Thank you!

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thanks for dropping in to take a look and share your thoughts! Many of Adamus' images are visually overmuch for me too.

Never feel you need to apologize for not liking an image we discuss here. The images are chosen not because they are favorites but because it is hoped that they'll generate thought and discussion. Differences of opinion are what makes art interesting!