This is difficult to write in a few brief words - which seems the preference here. I'll do both a short and a long version, because in fact this can't be done in a few words with any justice to photography. The short version, for those who want to move on quickly, is: a beautiful photograph of "nature plasticized." It's pretty and makes nice prints! It caught my eye for a moment, then I moved on...
Thank you for the "executive summary." It told me all I needed to know. There is a compliment ("beautiful" - thank you) and there is criticism ("plasticized" - thank you again). And I agree with both.
... The longer version has to explain "plasticized" in relation to photography...
Well, not to me... the moment you used the word, I got it. There might be some who would hear it for the first time and benefit from your explanation though. Thanks on their behalf.
... I've seen a lot of pictures of Devil Mountain. Almost as many as Half Dome. A very good photographer and dear friend once told me this story. They were driving through Yosemite and at the moment where the road turns just so, he said to all those in his car full of fellow photographers, "Ok, we're getting near Half Dome, put your cameras away." I assume that doesn't need explanation...
No, it does not. It is, however, an old debate, rehashed on this very forum numerous times, ie, cliches, icons, landmarks, done-to-death subjects, etc. Lines have been drawn, people took sides long ago. Then again, there might be newcomers who would benefit from your view, so thanks again on their behalf.
I personally belong to the school that says: "Yes, it's been done to death, but not by me." Had I passed by the Half Dome for the n-th time, maybe I wouldn't bother lifting my camera either (I would probably look for a different perspective though). Coming from Europe, these icons were new, jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring. And I had a chance to see them only once, for a day or two each. They are more than just a natural phenomenon, they are cultural as well. Monument Valley and John Wayne, Devil's Tower and extraterrestrials...
... The difference between the graphic arts and photography might be summarized as this:
Truth<------------------------------------->Ideal
Where photographs tell truth, graphic designs explain the ideal...
Again, true but nothing new. We had those debates here
ad nauseum about "true" vs. photoshopped, over-processed vs. "how it really looked," between photography and digital illustration (or graphic arts). Again, lines have been drawn, people took sides long ago. I didn't wander into the graphic territory by mistake, I chose it.
My view of graphics (as a photography genre) is based, partially, on Socrates:
"I will try to speak of the beauty of shapes... straight lines and curves and the shapes made of them... They are not beautiful for any particular reason or purpose, as other things are, but are eternally, and by their very nature, beautiful, and give a pleasure of their own quite free from the itch of desire: and in this way colors can give a similar pleasure..."So, while you seem to prefer the pursuit of truth, I choose to pursue beauty. You want truth in nature, I want beauty in shapes, forms and colors in nature.
... In this photograph, we see the idealized mountain, even down the exact required ingredients: cloud, tree, mountain, sky, check, check. And each item appears to have been scrubbed down to its bare outline, removed, cleaned, polished, repainted and set back into its proper place and adjusted for perfect alignment. And somewhere along the way, the nature of mountains and the feeling of trees got scrubbed away. There's none of nature's imperfections or weird deviations in here. Errant branches don't even seem to exist any more in this Super World of Super Clean Plastic (like an animator's world)....
I already explained in a separate reply that I did not alter anything, so no need to repeat it here (reply #38).
Sometimes, the nature
is simply perfect and that is actually what I am after, those "decisive moments" in nature. I have enough "imperfections or weird deviations" in my own life, enough ugliness and banalities, to replicate them in my photography, thank you very much. If people find the meaning of life in vending machines, cans of Campbell soups or 99c stores, more power to them. Not my cup of tea, though.