Landscape photography takes on a new depth when people are part of the picture. Human figures can provide scale, emotion and storytelling, transforming a beautiful view into a compelling narrative. Audiences are invited into the scene, questioning who these people are and how they ended up where they are. Characters can express the freedom and self-assurance that comes with connecting with the natural world, or perhaps a lone figure is a metaphor for isolation. Here, we bring you five exciting contemporary photographers who have perfectly captured figures in the wide open landscape.
Summer Wagner’s “visual poems” are blue-toned shots in which figures are transfixed by smartphones. In one composition, four individuals appear to take a flash photograph of the viewer. Elsewhere, two young people sit on a riverbank, staring down at glowing screens. A couple embrace, looking at devices over their shoulders. Here, the artist holds a mirror up to life online. “Alone, we project our egos into the ether – or onto Twitter,” Wagner writes. “Together those egos dance in an eclectic circus above our heads.”
Henri Prestes’ (b. 1989) first monograph, We Were Born Before the Wind (2022) is a testament to the quiet hours between sleeping and waking. The book is “an exploration of solitude and melancholy,” with figures roaming the shadowy Portuguese landscapes. To create the series, Prestes spent a significant amount of time in small villages, mountains and grasslands during the colder months of the year. The final shots are cinematic and intriguing, with green and yellow light diffusing through trees as chill hangs in the air.
Bootsy Holler (b.1969) is best-known for her work as a portraitist, beginning with depictions of herself and friends in the 1990s. Without Words, however, is introspective; a way of making sense of personal thoughts. “The spark came from an illuminating moment in Savannah, Georgia, when I found myself alone in the humid night air. I walked to the railing and looked out to see my body face down in the pool below. I didn’t know it then, but the feeling of detachment in that moment would follow me through the next few years.”
“These images are about coping with obsessive-compulsive disorder,” says Helsinki-based photographer Svante Gullichsen (b. 1994). “I reflect on acceptance, self-care, empathy, self-destructiveness, anxiousness, anger, terror and the spectrum of emotions I’ve been through during my healing journey.” In these deeply personal self-portraits, Gullichsen positions himself amidst the vast forces of nature. His raw and emotive compositions play out in and around the archipelago of Porvoo, taking viewers deep into the Finnish forest.
Yannis Davy Guibinga’s (b. 1995) series, In the vastness of space and the immensity of time (2023), is inspired by African myths, science-fiction and cultural astronomy. The idea is to “mix both modern and traditional elements from across West and Central Africa,” bringing stories to life through evocative portraits and expansive hyperreal backdrops. Bright, exaggerated palettes – including vivid blues, oranges and pinks – are key to Guibinga’s signature style, alongside bold contrasts and an incisive eye for composition.
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Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. Svante Gullichsen, Covered by Forest (Detail, 2016). Image courtesy the artist.
2. Image courtesy Henri Prestes, from Velvet Fields, Perfect Darkness and We Were Born Before the Wind.
3. Overgrowth at the Abandoned Millwood Plant. Rockford Illinois, May 2022. Image courtesy Summer Wagner.
4. Bootsy Holler, Cattle Point – 0824.2002, (2002-2021). Courtesy of the artist.
5. Svante Gullichsen, Crossing the Rubicon II (Detail, 2020). Image courtesy the artist.
6. Yannis Davy Guibinga, Daybreak at Crystal Mountain (2023). Featuring and Make-up: Béatrice (Bily) Rose Fatier.
