A Comparative Study of Identity in Contemporary Landscape Photography of Iran and Northern Europe (Based on Max Weber's Ideal Type)

Landscape photography is one of the most significant genres in the history of art and photography. By examining and comparing contemporary approaches to landscape photography in Iran and Northern Europe, this study seeks to investigate the nature of landscape within these two geographical contexts through key questions: How has landscape photography been formulated in each of these regions? What conceptual and cultural frameworks have informed its production? Furthermore, how do cultural—and at times national—configurations operate within these images?

This research, through an analytical-comparative method, aims to juxtapose the cultural signifiers within this particular photographic genre in Iran and Northern Europe, encouraging the audience to reflect on the characteristics of landscape photography in Iran and in another geography with a distinct identity. In this regard, the application of Max Weber’s methodological framework of the Ideal Type—an analytical construct designed to compare and examine differences, similarities, or discontinuities within historical and cultural realities—serves as a suitable approach for this study.

Additionally, this research, by engaging with various landscape theories, demonstrates how contemporary Iranian landscape photographers have symbolically addressed national dimensions of landscape, while their Northern European counterparts have primarily represented untouched nature by focusing on the formal aspects of landscape and its relation to national identity.

This article will first analyze the cultural, social, and geographical characteristics of each region, and subsequently, through a comparative study, explore how nature and landscape have been employed as instruments for representing national identity in contemporary landscape photography in Iran and Northern Europe. This research will also draw upon previous studies in the fields of landscape photography and cultural theory to investigate the cultural and artistic positions of these two regions within the contemporary world.

Landscape photography in Northern Europe is deeply rooted in Romantic traditions and materialist perspectives toward nature. In contrast, in Iran, landscape photography is often shaped by concepts such as geographical destiny and historical interaction with the environment. These fundamental differences are reflected not only in visual styles and photographic techniques but also in the underlying philosophy of landscape representation.

Especially in the present era—when climate change and social transformations have turned the representation of nature from a purely aesthetic subject into a political and cultural issue—analyzing these images can lead to a broader understanding of how different cultures engage with the environment, history, and cultural narratives.

As photography, as a visual language, plays a crucial role in conveying identities and cultural narratives in the contemporary world, this research can contribute to a deeper understanding of how cultural identity is formed in landscape photography and how this process influences perceptions of nature and the environment in these two regions. In this respect, landscape photography—as a cultural and social medium—provides a platform for expressing identity transformations and representing historical relationships between humans and nature.

This study ultimately seeks, through the examination of selected case studies and by employing the analytical framework of the Ideal Type, to identify and analyze the similarities and differences in contemporary landscape photography across these two geographical contexts.