How to photograph new topographic landscapes (Part one)

The outback of Australia has long been altered by human hands, and today there’s a real romanticism in what generations before us have left behind in small towns all across the country.

Far from the glossy tourist sites, there’s a seemingly forgotten Australia just waiting to be explored and in and around these places, and a wealth of photographic opportunities as well.

So last year, while on a month-long road trip through outback New South Wales, I decided to focus my lens on the man-made and altered landscapes I found on my travels.

I enjoyed this so much it inspired a new creative pathway and became the centre of a personal project I called West of Somewhere East – a photographic exploration of the urban environment in small town Australia.

Before we get started on some of my learnings from photographing these places, it’s worth having a quick history lesson.

Back in 1975, a huge change occurred in landscape photography circles in America with the launch of an exhibition in New York called New Topographics: Photographs of a Man Altered Landscape.

As well as introducing to the world photographers such as Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Frank Gohlke and others, the exhibition had a lasting impact on aesthetic and conceptual approaches to American landscape photography.

Before the exhibition, landscape photography was traditionally produced to showcase the pristine, seemingly untouched wilderness, such as the kind of magnificent "American" views championed by photographers like Ansel Adams.

By comparison, the New Topographic movement focused on man-altered topography, the suburbanised and elemental environment which is often overlooked and mundane to most people. In legitimising these places as worthy of attention, it opened new realms of possibilities for photographers to explore.

So, what’s the subject?

Unsurprisingly, most peoples’ idea of landscape photography is likely to be what’s found in a natural setting, free of man-made elements. But with New Topographic photography the key is to look for the opposite.

The genre is a celebration of the often quirky beauty found in everyday objects and places - think nostalgic objects in old service stations, empty parking lots full of shopping trolleys, urban parks and playgrounds, and other ‘monotonous’ places.

For me, what I like about this style of photography is it’s a reminder that not everything has to be a postcard moment for it to be photo worthy. Sometimes the quiet and unexpected can make for strong imagery.

Shot list

Whenever I start a new project, I’ll begin the process by writing a list with certain shots I want to make. So, before my trip, I wrote a list and stuck it to my steering wheel as a visual reminder of what I wanted to capture as I travelled.

I pre-visualised scenes and gave some thought to the different atmospheres and moods I wanted to capture. Being an Australian trip, my list had things you might expect like ‘outback pub’, ‘roadhouse’, ‘holden ute’, ‘roadkill’, ‘dark skies’, ‘outdated interiors’, ‘red dirt’, ‘long straight road’, and ‘hills hoist clothesline’.

I made a similar list when I visited the NSW town of Guyra during winter earlier in the year. Here, I had ‘tyre tracks in the snow’, ‘bowling green covered in snow’, ‘night scenes in the snow’, ‘window reflection’, and ‘shop window glowing in the evening’, among others.

I mention this because having these lists makes it so much easier to move around and find suitable subjects when you arrive in a location. It gives a sense of structure and direction that can save many hours aimlessly wandering while searching for subjects.

Don’t get me wrong, being aimless is great fun too, but often not when you’re travelling, and time is short. I recommend you give it a shot next time you head out to shoot a series. 

Composition

Centred, ‘matter of fact’ style framing, flat horizontal and straight vertical lines are all hallmarks of New Topographic photography. Composition is everything and what you exclude from your frame is just as important as what you include.

A technique I like to use is to ‘build’ the frame up from a clear focal point – once you’ve identified your main subject, compose your shot carefully by considering if everything in the frame is necessary to the final product.

Sometimes simply moving further away to include more within the frame is enough, while other times you may need to alter the angle at which you hold the camera, all while being aware you need to allow space to obtain straight vertical or horizontal lines. A tripod can be useful here.

Juxtaposition is another element that can help tell a story. Combining the natural and the man-made into one image can be powerful, and you’ll see this in much of my work. Not only can the combination provide scale and interest, but it can also provide a subtle commentary on how humans interact with our environment.

Low contrast

One of the characteristics of the New Topographic movement is repetitious lighting and relatively low contrast. I think part of this is to do with the fact that these earlier masterpieces were shot on black and white film or colour negative film. As a result, bold bright colours and high contrast are out, and images generally have a very soft or passive feel to them.

This low contrast style also plays to the subjects – often they’re not flashy or ostentatious, and so don’t need to be photographed in such a way. Subtlety is the aim.

Look out for part two next week. 

About the author: Drew Hopper is an Australian freelance documentary photographer exploring ecological themes, landscape and place. He is committed to documenting social, cultural and environmental stories around the world. See more of his work at drewhopper.com.