CREATING ART FROM NATURE

So, what do I mean by creating art from nature? Well, it's easy to take pretty pictures of pretty things, like scenics, flowers, plants, or trees. However, we need to go beyond just "taking a picture" of what we see. We need to take the time to think about composition, the messages we get, perspective, lighting (amount, color, direction), mood, and even shadows. 

If you study famous paintings, you will notice that many great artists purposefully included dark corners or areas in their paintings. They create interest and intrigue and increase the mood in the painting. When I find that in nature, I like to keep those shadows.

In other words, unless I am shooting with calendars or clients in mind, I think like an artist, not a photographer. 

This first example looks like an abstract painting. I have never seen a sunset like this one. It was above the Flatirons mountains near Boulder, Colorado. This doesn't require much technique--it was there already. It was my canvas in the sky. The key is to grab it before it disappears and to preserve it for posterity.   

This monochromatic image was a result of sub-freezing temperatures in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on the northern tip of the state. It was so cold that when I took my gloves off, my fingers went numb. Even my thoughts were covered with ice! For these situations, when everything is near-white, you need to over-expose the scene by 1-2 stops, to keep the whites white. 

This is a study in color and composition, more so than the scene itself. I placed my camera just inches from the ground to get this "field mouse" view of autumn colors and shapes.  

The key to creating art in nature is to extract from the big picture. The eyes see too much, and that reality leads us to photograph what the eyes see--too much. When I was on this trail, I was surrounded by mountains. But, it was just the side of this mountain that got my attention. I saw layers of color, and a sprinkling of greens, reds, and whites--all illuminated by late-setting sun rays. Note the shadows. It wasn't the mountain, nor the trees I photographed that afternoon. It was the art they gave me that helped me create this art from nature. 

One of the key ingredients to creating art from nature is Composition: deciding what to include    (and what to exclude) within the four corners of the viewfinder. Once I do that, how do I arrange all the elements in front of me--the driftwood, early summer flowers, the pond, the distant mountains, etc. Note, again, the shadows throughout--they add interest, mystique, and depth. 

 

I can see what inspired Georgia O'Keeffe to move from New York to New Mexico. I saw the same are she did--color, layers, design, form, texture. This scene is close to Ghost Ranch, where she lived out her life--her New Mexico canvas. 

Even the small in nature give me art, like this small orange mushroom. The angle of my camera made the small spring in the background look like a waterfall. Remember, there are no 90-degree angles in nature. It's okay to angle the camera. 

This distorted image looks like a Salvador Dali painting. I used a fast shutter speed to freeze any motion in the water. The light blue areas you see throughout are simply cloud reflections in the lake.

This last example is not for everyone. You have to think "art" to appreciate it. I was leading a field workshop in Rocky Mountain National Park. We were shooting in and around Nymph Lake when I looked to my left and saw this scene that evoked a psychological message for me: "Walking from the dark into the light." The trees in the foreground were in the shadows, and just beyond them was this open meadow receiving bright sunlight. It occurred to me to create an image while moving my camera slowly downward--thus the sense of movement in the image.

 

So, next time you're in the middle of nature, don't just photograph what your eyes see. Think like an artist. Don't look at the tangibles; look for light, shadows, color, design, form, texture, or mood. Then just drop your urge to "get it right" and just let it flow through you. It's there. Let it speak to you.

Have fun. And remember, you can always contact me if you want to learn more about the "Hows."