"THE INTIMATE LANDSCAPE" INTRODUCTION

No doubt many readers will have heard the term "the intimate landscape", but have not been fully aware of precisely what it means, so before I start to discuss the many ways you can explore this fascinating genre, it helps to perhaps define what we mean by this term.

Horse-Shoe Bend near Page Arizona

Beautiful as it is, this magnificent location near Page in Arizona is the very antithesis of what is meant by "the intimate landscape". I first stumbled across this site nearly 30 years ago. I visited a photography gallery in Page, Arizona, and as I was admiring the beautiful images on display, I was immediately drawn to a fabulous photograph taken of Horse Shoe Bend, so I immediately enquired about its precise location. It required wandering through the desert, and after about a 20-minute hike there it was, directly in front me.  In the intervening years however, it has morphed into one of the most popular and over-photographed scenes anywhere in America. A large fence has recently been erected around the site, and you now have to pay to get in!!!

Horse Shoe Bend Colorado River

The last time I visited this location was about 6 years ago; there must have been at least 10 other photographers milling around. As dawn materialised, we all packed up our gear and headed back to the newly constructed car-park, but I then noticed just how beautiful the Colorado river appeared in the early morning light, so I opened up my camera-bag  and decided to try something a bit more original. I'm sure other photographers will have taken something quite similar in recent years, but at least now I wasn't photographing the blindingly obvious.

Aspens set against The Rockies

In many ways this shot is not dissimilar to Horse-Shoe Bend near Page Arizona. We were driving through a particularly charming part of Utah when this awesome panorama came into view. As we approached I could see that there was a paved apron adjacent to the highway, allowing me to leave the road in order to photograph this wonderful vista. In the short time it took me to take this shot, two other vehicles pulled up and took precisely the same picture. I quickly learnt it was what the paved apron was constructed for. Who wouldn't want to capture this: a wonderful spread of aspens set against the immaculate mountain range? It would have been churlish to ignore it, but ultimately it says very little about me as a landscape photographer.

Aspens : detail

As we drove along the same highway, we got closer to the aspens, and I became particularly fascinated by the detail and especially the wonderful rhythmic elements they created. In this example I was especially drawn to the interplay between the area of defoliated trees set against the lush amber of the surrounding healthy trees. Indentifying that was a personal decision that others might ignore, hence this can now quite justifiably be considered to be "an intimate landscape". Essentially "an intimate landscape" needs to reveal a vision that is unique to you.

Aspens, A celebration of yellow & red.

Several days later we were driving within the same geographical area when I happened to notice a group of photographers huddled together on the side of the road, all with their cameras focused on a distant mountain with an impressive spread of aspens in the foreground. It was of course tempting to join them. But as I got out of my car, I noticed on the opposite side of the road this wonderful cluster of trees sporting a beautiful interplay of red and yellow foliage which didn't appear elsewhere within the forest .  This is the hallmark of an intimate landscape; identifying a single visual feature such as colour, line, rhythm, texture ,shape or form and purposefully bringing it to the fore. 

Aside from photographing well-known and cliched scenarios, the other temptation one should aim to avoid is something I term "image creep".  We've all done it. You see a stunning snow -capped mountain in the distance, with a beautiful avenue of trees in the foreground, which of course should make a worthy subject in its own right. But you then notice a meandering stream, next perhaps a cluster of poppies down by your feet, off-set  by a lovely display of ferns. By including everything, you are in danger of weakening the simplicity of the initial concept, i.e the avenue of trees set against the distant snow-capped mountains. Essentially you don't need anything else!

Rain dew on grasses

In the forthcoming blogs I wish to explain how one can identify the potential for photography in more local and accessible areas, by concentrating on simple, clear-cut designs, so that you feel much more appreciative of the opportunities  you can explore the moment you step outside. This image was taken no more than 300 yards from my home. It is a genre that encourages us to look at seemingly unpromising elements in a much more positive fashion.

With respect to printing I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a box of Fotospeed Natural Smooth 310. I wasn't disappointed. This paper features a wonderfully smooth matt surface, not unlike Platinum Matt 280 which I have long championed. As many of my prints are exhibited and sold, it really is reassuring that this paper is another of Fotospeed's ArtSure -approved fine art papers, which ensures that it retains archival permanence. When compared to Platinum Matt 280 it is fractionally warmer, but the colour rendition is impeccable. Its principle feature however is that it is made from sustainable materials, something I'm sure we are becoming increasingly aware of.