Justin James Reed just published an excellent post, which talks about an important point that is very rarely discussed: “One other element that always lingers in the background for a photographer that works in a method like Burtynsky is the issue of access. […] Which brings me to Polidori and Gursky. It seems to me that a lot of the imagery that I associate with these photographers is deeply rooted in the idea of access. Images of factories by Gursky and Burtynsky seem to separate themselves very thinly in terms of individuality and complexity.” Also note the related post by Liz Kuball. Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch, but I do think that Alec Soth’s comments about tactile photography are - at least in part - somewhat related to this.