In the realm of nature
I love Eliot Porter’s work very much.
For me, he is as this book introduces him ‘an artist of uncommon perception’. I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve been thinking lately that most landscape photography goes no further than a website for the majority of photographers out there. In some ways, it is unfortunate to think that many of us spend $$$$ on cameras that can record great tonality and resolution, only for everything we do, to be reduced down to a jpeg that is displayed on Flickr or facebook or our own personal websites.
I bring this up, because some images work better than others on certain mediums, and I will stick my neck out here and say that often images with high impact, lots of contrast and a degree of ‘boldness’ to them are more readily embraced on the web, than those that have more subtle tone to them. Books, as I’ve been saying for a while, are able to convey the finesse of an image that may often be lost on the web.
We’re living in an age where the mediums that are most prevalent, dictate that most of the images we consume are bold.
But bold is boring.
As a new photographer, many of us are enraptured by high contrast and it’s one of the first things we go in search of. Likewise too, the iconic landscape. We’re not looking for subtlety at all. As our tastes and eye develop, we do start to slowly appreciate what is maybe less obvious but just as valid. Subtlety of tone, and also, subtlety of subject too.
With this in mind, i’ve really enjoyed looking at Eliot Porter’s ‘In the Realm of Nature‘. In it, I’m presented with beautiful compositions of anonymous landscapes, ones where I do not recognise the landscape because the usual suspects are not present. Instead, I’m given frames filled with foliage which on the surface could seem extremely busy, but when looked at a bit further, I discover there is simplicity conveyed by the use of dense nature. I quickly stopped looking for that iconic mountain or classic viewpoint, and instead, I just began to feel myself enjoying nature for what it is – simple beauty.
Eliot Porter did not make dramatic photographs in the way we have become accustomed to. Missing is the hard contrasts, the moody landscape or the overdone iconic place. Instead, we are presented with very natural, relaxed compositions with a care towards the macro. With a care towards nature.
It’s of no surprise to me that he was a supporter of the preservation of the natural landscape, but what does surprise me is the sense of rejection he had from those around him who did not consider colour photography an art form. He was an early adopter of colour, and in this book, it’s a very joyous thing to be able to see the colours of film emulsions that I’m noticing are no longer so present in our contemporary visual dictionary.
For me, this book is a welcome reprieve from the overly dramatic. Perhaps I see things in his work, that I feel I haven’t explored so much in my own.
He seems accepting of the landscape he encounters during a casual walk and reminds me, that I don’t have to go far to create beautiful images if I so chose to.
Hi Bruce, thanks for your review. We’ve had one or two orders recently so they may well be from your ‘followers’. Unfortunately the UK distrbutor doesn’t have any but I’ve managed to get a few from a US supplier. I suspect it may go out of print before too long.
It was good to hear your enthusiasm for Porter as he’s a photographer I’ve admired for many years. Interestingly you have to say this very carefully in fine art photography circles as he’s deemed to be very old hat. I find this hard to understand as many fine art photographers are themselves quietly coming back to landscape and nature photography and even embracing ‘beauty’ again, a category that for some time was treated with disdain! And I agree with you completely that his impact on the development of colour photography (and the esteem in which it is held) has been immense. If anyone wants to contact me re other Porter books, I’d be happy to hear from them. They should be warned though that the recent new edition of his classic ‘In Wildness in the Preservation of the World’ has apparently been poorly printed and the title you reviewed is a better bet. Keep up the good work, Neil
Comment by Beyond Words — 5 March, 2013 @ 11:56 am
Hi Bruce – Are you familiar with the work of Charles Cramer? I mention him because like Elliot Porter, his work leans towards the subtle use of colour, a lack of iconic views (though he has some), bringing forth for the viewer the simple beauty of nature. The subtlety of his work is brought out even more when seeing his work in print form.
I have a Charles Cramer print, one of only 3 photographers whose prints I have purchased (yours would be one of the others). Cramer is also one of the few photographers I have seen who is able to make pleasing images in dense forest, something I have found very few photographers (including me) are able to master.
Comment by Steve N — 6 March, 2013 @ 1:27 pm
Hi Steve,
Yes, I know Charles Cramer’s work very well and it is indeed extremely beautiful.
May I also say, that he is also an excellent workshop leader. I don’t hear a lot of great comments about most other leaders out there, but he is certainly one who stands out as a very nice guy, with a lot to teach and very worth going on a trip with.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 6 March, 2013 @ 8:09 pm