Comfort zone? What comfort zone. I recently accepted a job to make landscapes and nature scenes - images that are supposed to be untouched by man scenes. I know I've written about this before. The idea of making good landscapes is pretty intimidating to me. I look at most landscapes and get very little out of them. I always think a landscape needs a person in it doing something. Good landscape photographers really stand out from the average and my attempts are seldom what I'd call anything but average. I was going to turn down the job, but then a little voice said--- you like a challenge! And recently I have found myself experimenting with landscapes more, so I have been practicing I thought. I began thinking about Van Gogh and Pissaro, Monet and Turner. And i thought ok If i think about pure composition and not subject matter then what will that do for me? I thought and thought about this and really started looking for elements like the landscape painters, what in the landscape can i position so that it sets up the space and gives balance to another part of the frame? A reed jutting up on ones side of the frame balancing out the visual weight of the flower in the foreground. A shape of shadow echoed in the pattern of pond weeds floating on the surface, color harmonies and color contrasts. Armed with my knowledge of art history I felt I could at least make some nice photographs even if they are only average. As I was exploring this space i began to think like a photographer as well, how can i expose this light coming into this dark dense wood, or the sunsetting and reflecting off the water to not only create a picture, but a picture that has mood, atmosphere and sense of importance placed on that moment in time. I had fun. I still think these are pretty average overall in comparison to the great landscape photographers I've tried to study and steal from. I was able to have some moments when i was able to have a 'person' in the pictures. A bee or dragon fly are creatures doing something and can take the place of a person. Photographs by Richard Sayer Photography.
You can click the small pictures below to enlarge.
You can click the small pictures below to enlarge.