Hi! I am Sunil Bhandari, 4th year student here in Perth UHI. My work covers various aspects of visual communication; from graphic design and web-design to cinematography and animation. But, landscape photography has always been my central focus. For me, landscape photography is an especially important subject. And it is one for which I am grateful to have spent so much of my childhood.
There are many reasons to appreciate the opportunity to photograph landscapes and today, I will share four of my personal reasons:
The adventure
Landscape photography cannot be done while seated at a desk. It gets me out of the door, into new places, and encourages me to live a healthier lifestyle. Sometimes this means finding breath-taking places right in front of your eyes that you have never seen before. Most days, it involves going on a hike or a nature walk to discover
Being in Nature is like therapeutic meditation
One of my favourite aspects of becoming a landscape photographer is being in nature which means I am out away from crowds, urban development, mobile phones, the Internet, and just being at one with the weather and elements around me. Getting out to photograph landscapes clears my mind and relieves my anxiety and nature's healing powers always make me feel stronger than I did before my shoot.
There have been many studies carried out regarding this. One of the study (Park et al., 2009) measured the effects of “forest bathing” on stress levels (forest bathing is defined as being surrounded by and taking in the forest’s atmosphere). The results found that spending time in the forest was more effective in reducing the indicators of stress. For example, participants had lower blood pressure, pulse rates, cortisol levels, and parasympathetic nerve activity on the days they spend in the forest.
Helps me visualise the world in new way
Landscape photography not only encourages me to visit new locations, but it often encourages me to get out at certain times of day when we are mostly cooped up indoors, such as dawn, dusk, and even at night. These times are most crucial times for landscape photography because at these times, the sky and light is full of colours. Thanks to shooting landscape photography, I've seen more sunrises and sunsets than I ever have before.
It helps me preserve moments
Photographing landscapes helps me preserve the ephemeral moments of my travels and adventures. I get a feeling of pleasure and nostalgia as I look at my landscape photographs, as if I'm taking a trip down memory lane. Peaceful thoughts induced by a sunset or the warmth of fresh snow can be recalled instantly.
In conclusion, photographing landscapes allows me to capture the sense of awe and wonder that exists all around us. It has made me see the extraordinary in the more ordinary beauty of my local surroundings, as well as getting me out to see some of the world's most wondrous landscapes.
Instagram: @ sb_perspective_
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