5 Beautiful and Best Loved Landscape Photographs

5 of the best loved landscape photographs… and how they can affect your photography.

I got an email today and the sender announced that he had his five best loved landscape photographs of 2019, was going to review them and talk about all the specifics i.e.: lens, camera settings, etc.

I tried to click on the email and it was a video presentation and you needed to register and schedule time and couldn’t actually just READ about the images. So I backed out of it.

But then it got me to thinking about MY own 5 best loved landscape photographs of 2019 and what would they be if I chose them.

But then I thought, “Why does it have to be mine? Why does it have to be only in 2019? Why can’t I review the beautiful photographs that have influenced me throughout the years?”

Images that you have been exposed to over the years DO influence the way you photograph.

Usually there is a thread between the images you’ve seen and loved and been visually impacted by and your own style. Many other things influence your style as well, but I decided to investigate this particular idea.

My top 5 best loved landscape photographs and the artists behind them are:

1. Ansel Adams

How can I just choose one of Ansel Adams? His work is iconic and historic.

The one below, Aspen Trees in Northern New Mexico speaks to me. The pattern of the older trees, the new growth and bright foliage of the young tree, the difference between the leaves on the tree in the foreground and the starkness of just the tree trunks of the older trees in the background… They all combine to make an outstanding image that is photographically superb.

This image also tells a story by mixing young and old, old growth and new life, the light hitting on and spotlighting the new tree and less light on the background, letting it recede. It all combines to create emotions and visual interest at the same time.

As great as his art is, his life is equally interesting. I learned much by reading his autobiography, “Ansel Adams: An Autobiography”. He is a very good writer, at times bringing tears to my eyes reading about his life, especially his youth.

If you love his photography, you should really get his autobiography and learn more about this photographic legend. You can purchase a hard copy or kindle version by going here.

Ansel Adams-Aspen trees in New Mexico

2. Clyde Butcher

Another black and white photographer, only his subject matter is focused on Florida and the Everglades. Like Ansel Adams, he championed the region of this wilderness of the Everglades to bring to light the immense beauty and fragility of the area and its need to be protected against developers.

I met him originally at an art show many years ago.

I was showing my infrared photography in St Petersburg, Florida. At that time, I had no idea that he was so famous and his booth was set up directly behind mine!

We had the love of black and white photography in common and I just loved his work.

I was struck by his warm spirit and kind heart even with the limited interaction we had. This was over 30 years ago.

I have visited his showroom and dark room in Venice, Fl. and listened to a lecture by him many years ago. He prints his images huge so that they have the impact that they deserve and you can just immerse yourself in them.

If you ever have the chance to visit either of his galleries, please make time to do so. You’ll be glad you did!

In his lecture I remember him saying that he often tried to place a barrier in the front of the image so that the viewer was forced to visually overcome that to actually “step” into the image and become a part of it. I have always remembered that, but not really been able to recreate it in my own photography with any degree of success. I will keep trying though!

My favorite image of his is the one below that that captures the smooth water in this lazy river, the great ferns that have grown out of this long dead log and the primitive area that is captured here.

I apologize for the quality of this image. All of his online images are copyrighted (and rightly so!) and I could only pull a small file for this illustration. If you want to see a much better version, go here.

LOXAHATCHEE RIVER 1 © 1991 Jupiter, FL — LOXAHATCHEE RIVER 1 © 1991
Jupiter, FL

3. Galen Rowell

From black and white photographers I now jump to a more modern photographer who worked mainly in color. LOTS of color. His images are no less stunning than that of his legendary predecessors.

As an adventurer and mountain climber, he understood the landscape and light from being immersed in it for years. (This seems to be a common thread among great landscape photographers. They take the time to study their surroundings, spend a LOT of time in nature and capture the most exquisite lighting and time of year for their photographs.)

Winter Sunset, Gates of the Valley, Yosemite is one of my favorites.

By using the juxtaposition of the soft snow with the hard edge of the cliffs combined with the late evening fog, he creates a stillness and sense of time.

The hard lighting from the setting sun illuminates the rock face, bringing out the color of the granite and creating a mirror image in the water. Doing so brings the color of the cliff down into the lower part of the darker, shadowed water area, tying the image together with the duplication of color in multiple parts of the scene.

This much loved image even became a stamp in 2006, included in the Scenic American Landscape Series.

Mountain Light: In Search of the Dynamic Landscape This book makes a great gift for yourself or a photographer friend.

Please DO purchase this in hardback as the images are much more stunning in print. I purchased this 40 years ago and the principles outlined here remain the same. The references to cameras, film and technology are obviously outdated, but a lot can be gleaned from reading this book and being inspired by the photographs.

You can find it here on Amazon.

beautiful-landscape-photos-and-how-they-affect-your-photography-findingnaturesbeauty

4. Peter Lik

Peter is an Australian born photographer and is well known for his wide format images. Capturing more of the scene than is normally found by using a wide format camera system, he is able to bring a unique vision to his audience.

Again, very hard to choose a favorite from his collections.

This image spoke to me and I wanted to highlight it here.

His great use of color is amazing. We have all seen images of the lavender fields in France, but his luck (or planning) on the sunset and the way it mirrors the colors in the fields creates a masterpiece. Add in the lone tree in the middle of the field and the green hills that separate the horizon from the sky and you have a unique piece.

Peter’s images are found exclusively in galleries around the world or can be found online here. Be aware that you will spend a great deal of time perusing his galleries! I can seriously say it is a feast for your eyes!

5. Franco Fontana

Franco is a landscape photographer born in 1933 in Italy and his images are not all landscapes. And he is not as well known as the photographers included above. But his use of abstract imagery in his landscape photographs is what draws me to his work. The fact that he is able to create an abstract work of art from the landscape in front of him is remarkable.

Studying the lines and feel of his pieces is a very good excersize for aspiring landscape photographers.

He is best know for abstract and minimalist style. Franco captures shapes and lines in a way no other photographer does. Definitely worth it to take a look at his work.

Training your eye to see landscapes in a different way can open up a new body of work for you.

In conclusion, I urge you to contemplate some memorable images you have seen and loved and compare them to your own photography.

Are their similarities?

Do you see major components that you instinctively include?

Are you drawn to a particular subject matter in your favorite photographs?

Or does the subject matter… not matter?

Are you unconsciously recreating a pattern, cropping, lighting or composition?

Do you look for the same subjects over and over again? A road or pathway, the pattern of seashells, or fences scattered throughout your most loved beautiful landscape photographs?

It is an interesting thing to delve into the way our brains work and what influence other photographic works that we love have on our own beautiful landscape photographs.

If you would like to check out my photographic art, please just click here and you will be taken to my art photography site. Thanks for looking!

What 5 photographs (or photographers) have influenced you the most throughout the years?

I would love to hear!

Comment below and I will be sure to respond!

September 28, 2019February 21, 2020

Hidden Treasures in Idaho + Photoshop tips

Stoddard Campground was a hidden treasure in Idaho. It was supposed to be a one night stopover on my way to elsewhere. A lot of these little out of the way campsites are becoming surprisingly pleasant. I was apprehensive because the review said ATV campground – read – NOISY!

But surprisingly not. It was quiet and lovely. I ended up staying a few nights instead of the one night stop over I had planned. All the ATV campers were in one area and had strict rules for while they were in the campground. And the ATV trails were far enough off to not be heard. Walking around the park provided me with these beautiful restful scenes.

One of my readers gave me insight into this particular forest. David Robinson let me know about the Aspen forests. “Did you know all those trees share a common root system as one huge organism. If you want to thicken the stand of trees you cut a few down and it sends up twice as many as replacements.”

Aspen tree groves are all linked to each other. I had no idea about this hidden network of root system that is tied to the healthy community of aspens.

Campground beauty in the trees and foliage.

Aspen Grove at Stoddard Creek Campground, Idaho

I approached both of these shots with a different eye. I liked the one above because it had the textures of the foliage on the ground, the dark evergreens to strengthen the image and the pattern of the aspens throughout. Because I cropped it with the rule of thirds it gave it more dynamic interest. Next, I brought it into Photoshop for a bit of post processing. I strengthened the color intensity of the ground foliage and brought the whites in the aspen bark back to where it should be.

Sometimes cameras don’t give you what you saw in the original scene, especially cell phones.

The second image to the left is much different to me. I positioned the leading line of the dead tree in the middle to bring the viewers eye into the scene.

Again, a short stop in Photoshop strengthened the greens and gave the white bark back its beautiful white contrast. If you don’t have Photoshop, and would like to get it, please follow this link.

You can have a subscription to it for under $10 per month for personal use and it is well worth the price if you are interested in making your photographs better.

If you use this link when you purchase, it helps support my blog and travels at no extra cost to you.

Great evergreens in Stoddard Creek Campground, Idaho

This third image I liked because of the size and strength of the evergreens. The circumference of the trunks was a stark contrast to the aspens. The bit of brightly colored fungi on the side of the trunk gives a bit more interest.

I positioned the tree so that the viewer could get grounded by seeing the bottom of the tree trunks and enough of the branches to get a sense of the scene.

By positioning the aspens in the back, it shows that they are secondary to the true focus of the image, instead of competing for center stage.

Next, a quick edit in Photoshop was done to strengthen the bark texture, the intensity of the greens and the yellows. Crisping up the whites again gave this image what it needed to turn from snapshot to an image that your eye wants to linger over.

Hidden treasures in Idaho – Opal Mining

While I was here, I tried my hand at mining. Ha ha ha!!

I always have loved opals. The colour variations, the way they catch the light and the beauty of the gem had always made it a favourite. So when I found the Spencer Opal mine not even 20 minutes from camp, I made it a priority to visit.

You don’t actually get to go into the mine, that it too dangerous for them apparently. But there is a great big pile of rocks that contain raw opal and you pay $20 to go in and mine for however long you want. Armed with a bucket, a water sprayer, gloves, and a shovel, in I went.

They give you a five-minute lesson on finding opals in the pile.

I think I needed more like an hour.

I was one of the first ones in, found a promising spot on the pile and sat down to dig. One of the workers came by with a sample of raw opal to help guide me in finding my hidden treasure.

Next, I dug down two feet. I was intent on finding a magnificent piece of opal! Digging, examining and spraying bits of rock with water to bring out the shine occasionally, afforded me nothing more than wet gloves. By using the water, you are apparently more able to recognize the opal in the rock. Still nothing.

Moved to another spot. Repeated procedure. Nothing.

Meanwhile around me was a younger couple, maybe mid 30’s and they were chest high in their rock digging. All the while letting each other know that they “found another one!”

Even young teenagers were finding opals.

But for me – NADA. Zip. Zero. Nothing.

When my backside wore out from sitting on rocks and my back gave in from bending over, I went with my measly 4 small rocks that I knew deep down were nothing and went to check out.

Yep, I was correct. Nothing.

I went to give back my sample opal piece and I think they took pity on me. They told me I could keep it.

Ugh. Pity Opal. Yes, here it is:

Hidden treasures – treats in Dell, Montana

Onward to a small town , Population 53, (yes, that is not a typo) to get a treat I had heard about from a fellow traveller.

He told me to be sure to stop in Dell, Montana at the little schoolhouse turned restaurant, for a cinnamon bun.

Well, after my opal mining fiasco, I figured I deserved a treat. So I stopped here and got one of the largest sticky buns I had ever layed eyes on. Almost 6” in diameter and at the outrageous price of… wait for it… $2.00! It really was a hidden treasure!

Apparently this little restaurant is quite a thing in the area. You should check it out if you are near there.

Calf-A Restaurant, Oregon Shortline Rd., Dell, Montana

Onward to my next gorgeous adventure!!

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Thanks for reading. I hope I expand your view of the world and give you a few tips for creating your own gorgeous images.

If you would like to see more of my travels and hints for creating better travel pictures, please subscribe to this blog below.

Questions? Please let me know and I will answer!

August 5, 2019August 6, 2019

Craters of the Moon, Idaho

I had never heard of this place before. But here I am in Idaho, exploring, and discovered Craters of the Moon. It is a large volcanic area from millions of years ago. A very stark landscape, unlike anything I had ever seen. Hot and arid. I was determined to hike at least some of these trails. I advise early morning or late evening, if you are hiking in July!

Craters of the Moon, ID, early morning hike — Early morning hike

This was a morning hike up the Inferno Cone. It is made up of lava cinders entirely. Pretty much straight up into the sky. I captured this image of the hiker in front of me, as he got to the ridge line of the mountain. I waited for him to come into the right place to get a silhouette against the morning light.

Craters of the Moon, Idaho, Sunset — Sunset at Craters of the Moon

Compare the sunset image of Craters of the Moon National Monument with the first one in the morning. The colors of sunset light are a lot different. A warmer, more golden light, lit this area of rocks. Combined with the dark blue of the passing storm clouds, the colors are beautiful!

Look for the light

When you are out on your travels or even on a walk around the neighborhood, get used to looking at the light. The intensity, the color temperature and even how the sun lights up an object can bring out a very different look than even 10 minutes before.

Remember to compare contrasts. Light against dark, delicate foliage against hard and flat rock. I found this image interesting with the comparison here in this very stark landscape.

And then, in regard to hiking … know your limits…

I just said no…

I had climbed the North CraterTrail Hike up about 1/2 mile, (yes, UP) and then was faced with this downward climb and then up again. I just said no. But for those of you more fit than I, it was probably a spectacular hike!

The image below is the other end of the same trail, North Crater Trail. I got here just in time to catch the beautiful light of sunset and the clouds. No, I didn’t hike it. I drove the loop to the other end and caught this at the last minutes of daylight.

The ground is all lava; lava flow, lava cinders, lava splatters…etc. The plants you see are very tiny and are spaced out as if someone planted them. Very curious! Their roots go quite deep and they spread out in a 3 foot radius from the original plant. You never know what you are going to find when you explore!

Thanks for reading. I hope I expand your view of the world and give you a few tips for creating your own gorgeous images.

If you would like to see more of my travels and hints for creating better travel pictures, please subscribe to this blog below.

Questions? Please let me know and I will answer!