Extracting Abstraction

A collection of abstract landscapes as part of Richard I'anson's Travel Photography course. 

Throughout this past month one of my most pressing enquiries has been to ask "How does a piece of photography become a piece of art?"

The double edged sword about travel and landscape photography (and a notion extended to documentary, journalism..) is that, it acts as a mirror to the real world. In recording these realities, the camera becomes a reflection of the subject. And in so being, the result, aka the photo, becomes a simple documentation of the art (be it natural, cultural, artificial), rather than be an art piece in itself. It becomes the megaphone from which the message is relayed, rather than the actual message. I'm looking for a way to merge the megaphone and the message into one distinctive entity. To allow the subject and photo to exist within a merger that transcends average transcription. 

So in this vein I've been toying with the idea of art within landscape, art as landscape, landscape as art, an artistic approach to landscape photography, and all the levels and deviations of this theme. The root of this question stems from the notion of how photography is regarded as an art form, and how a piece of creation/documentation based on external conditions can become iconic, and unique, or, more accurately, become a form of self expression. A slight exploration into this train of thought can develop into the obvious general answers - through creative technical skills, editing skills, and marketing skills. Which goes to the more detailed query - which type of creative technical, editing, and marketing skill will result in a photo that is considered as art? And essentially, what is the fundamental definition of art in this context? 

There are probably whole doctorates and academic courses dedicated to exploring this topic. But as it is a hobby and personal passion of mine, it's apt that I'm going through the experimental processes on my own tangent. I really hope to find the answers one day. Here's to creating, and eventually becoming, art. 

Edit 1 : I found this really cool article on abstract landscape photography