Remembering the Experience...and Photography.

“Beaver Pond, Snowfall” is an image that exemplifies both the beauty that pulls me to mountain adventures, as well as the dramatic natural experience that I remember so vividly and moves me to carry big cameras and expose big sheets of film in insane conditions. On this particular day the snow was falling heavily. In the time it took me to set up my camera and expose my sheet of film (20-30 minutes), at least 4 inches of snow came down. As I looked out of my window just a couple of hours before, I had to laugh. It was a ridiculous idea to venture out, but I had “the mood” of an image in mind.

Needless to say, I layered up with warm under layers and Gore-tex outers, grabbed my camera pack and headed out into the storm. I wasn’t going far, but my anticipation was high. Now, while I had an image type in mind (intimate details close, soft hints of “foggy” background in the distance) I was open to the experience. I wandered through this quiet landscape taking in every detail. With the mountains shrouded in falling snow, the landscape became smaller. I literally felt within the landscape. That feeling is what I was envisioning for my image, and was reveling in as part of my life. That is what I call, the Fine Art of Nature!

That is what makes this image such a success. That, and a little artistic and technical follow up. Once I was in my happy place with the natural conditions and landscape, I was able to begin composing the scene in a way that represented what I was feeling. I knew that the whisper of large pines on the distant mountainside peaking through the blizzard would give depth and scale to my scene. Next I wanted to include subject matter that provided intimate detail of the beaver pond environment which made the viewer feel as though they could walk right in to the image. As I wandered I found this spot on the far side of the pond that made me stop. This was it. It was time to refine and compose.

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I was attracted to the leading line of the foreground log accompanied by the channel that the beavers swim through when leaving the pond to feed on Willows. The curved line of that channel was interesting, as were the snow covered grasses in the immediate foreground. I included the large boulder on the left, which added strength to an otherwise soft feeling scene. I positioned it in such a way that it both leads the eye to the center of the image, and creates a layering effect between foreground and background. The clarity of the texture and contrast on the granite adds strength to the composition. I used the clump of branches to the right side in the pond, along with their reflection to balance out the visual weight of the boulder and add further detail. As the far side of the pond (the beaver dam) was softened by the snow, it added a little middle ground detail that enabled a smooth transition into the delicate background. The silhouettes of the pine trees on the distant mountainside are what had brought me out into the storm to begin with. The background adds context and scale, while enabling the viewer to feel as though they are standing in a more intimate landscape. Due to the long exposure required (low light + slow film) to capture this scene on film, the falling snow is rendered as a fog, without detail. I believe that softens the mood of the scene and depicts the feeling of solitude I experienced and wanted to share.

“Beaver Pond, Snowfall” is one of those images that brings me a rush of quiet emotion when viewing it. I can feel the enveloping weather. I can hear the snowflakes landing on my hood. I remember standing on the edge of the pond as snow piled up on all of my gear. It was a black and white day, spent alone in a beautiful, peaceful place. I am pleased that I was able to translate all of that onto a 4x5 inch sheet of black and white film. And, I’m happy to be able to print this image, so you can experience this wonderful piece of nature on your wall.

Collectors Tip: Many collectors are intimidated by the idea of collecting black and white images if they don’t have a stark, modern space in which to hang them. The reality is, a piece of art on the wall stands on its own. It doesn’t have to blend. Furthermore, black and white photographs can be framed in numerous styles to fit your personal taste. They can even be printed on aluminum and hung without a frame! just ask one of our gallery representatives to help walk you through the possibilities!

Photographers Tip: Most often, when shooting black and white film, I will use “contrast filters”. These are colored filters placed in front of the lens that help produce tonal separation in a color landscape which we are trying to record on black and white film. However, when shooting in a blizzard where there are no color tones to separate, I use no filter at all in front of my lens. Given the low contrast nature of the scene, I will most often have to increase contrast while developing the film (n+1, n+2), and again later while working in either the traditional or modern (digital) darkroom. Capturing images while the snow falls gives us a relatively easy (narrow) exposure range to capture. We can then work on the straight forward contrast control at home.
Note: I am primarily a “cross platform” photographer. I shoot large format sheet film and then drum scan my film on my personal fluid mount drum scanner. This creates a massive (hundreds of megabytes) digital file which I them adjust in both Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop software. For black and white images, I am primarily using curves adjustment layers to set my whit point, black point and contrast levels, both globally and locally. I make my general / basic adjustments in Lightroom, and most of my local and very detailed adjustments in Photoshop.

Would you like to go out in the field and look through the lens with me? Would you like to take your photography to the next level, capture a particular location with your camera or simply tour the locations of some of my most iconic images? Take a private workshop / tour in your favorite season!

Details:
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field Camera with 4x5 Film Back
Lens: 90mm
Film: Ilford FP4 plus 4x5 inch Black and White film
Developer: Diafine
Filter: N/A
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL LINKS:

My FREE Fine Art of Nature Insider : https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/
Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ

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Finding Calm Within the Storm

Blizzard, Cottonwoods, River

November 15, 2019

Being a large format film photographer is an interesting avocation today. I came to shooting big film with the desire to produce large, beautiful, clear prints of the natural world. The outdoors provides me with more than subject matter. When I go “out” I am provided an energetic escape. As I like to say, I go to a beautiful place and, if all the conditions come together, I am moved to compose an image of one small, spectacular piece of that place. This has always been my source of creativity, escape, energy, rejuvenation, and ultimately, my art.

Occasionally, I get caught up in the world. I won’t delve into the details, but I lose my excitement, or motivation, or belief in the art that most often fuels me. When this happens, I find that pushing through difficult situations in the name of art can bring me back to a place of passion and creativity. The image above, “Blizzard, Cottonwoods, River”, came to life during such an experience.

Last winter the Lake Tahoe area, where I live, received massive amounts of snow. During one particular storm, all roads were closed, and we didn’t leave our home for four days. While the snow dumped, I geared up and headed out on foot. When I saw these trees silhouetted in the distance, I left the road and trudged, first through waste deep snow, then through chest deep snow, until I reached a clearing near the river. I slowly walked in a small circle until I had compacted enough snow to create a dense enough platform upon which I could set up my tripod, large format camera, and myself. After composing my image, loading a film holder into the camera and metering the scene, I waited until the snow fell heavily and the wind blew hard, creating true whiteout conditions. Then, I clicked the shutter release and exposed one sheet of color film.

The image is quiet, seemingly still. I think that is because I was able to convey how I felt in this place, in these conditions, when I experienced this scene and composed this image. With the world around us moving at a crazy pace, full of divisiveness and buried in unrealistic expectations and minimal attention spans, it is interesting that the one place I can find tranquility is within a storm. I don’t wish to mirror the world by providing images in technicolor conjured up in the computer in order to hold a viewers attention for 8 seconds and earn a “like” on social media. I want to share the power of the natural world as a remedy to those things. I hope to compose images that collectors will escape to when the world is overwhelming. These images can be both serene and powerful. I hope images like “Blizzard, Cottonwoods, River” speak to you as they do to me. The magic of big film is that it enables me to make these moments eternal. My experience, in that moment in time, can be shared and experienced forever.

After I’ve completed my photographic process in the field, I pack everything away, hoist my pack, and toil back through the conditions that originally motivated me to find beauty. As I trudged through the snow, I wondered if I had gotten it right. Was my exposure correct? Was the lens free of snow? Did the camera shake? I question my sanity, realizing I am wet, cold, tired and have along slow hike ahead of me. After several weeks, I received my developed film. The exposure was good, details / focus clear, my memory was awakened. As I drum scan my film and work in my modern digital darkroom, I question every subtle detail. I leave and come back. It takes days. In the end, my collectors will judge my vision. If you are moved as I was during the creation of this image, it was worth suffering for my art.

That is “The Fine Art of Nature”.

This image is ready to be released and is available for your collection! Please contact me directly and I will help make your purchase possible. Click Here for assistance!

Details:
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field Camera with 4x5 Film Back
Lens: Caltar IIN (Rodenstock) 90mm
Film: Fuji Provia 100F 4x5 inch transparency film
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL LINKS:

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ
My Free Fine Art of Nature Newsletter: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/

When the details become the art

One of the things I have been rewarded with through my photography experience is the gift of becoming very observant. I seam to notice little details in the world around me that most people simply walk right by. I take advantage of this ability when I go out scouting for my large format film images. I often hike around my home in Lake Tahoe with a Nikon DSLR while scouting for possible film images and searching for wildlife. I use the time in the field to find potential foregrounds, backgrounds, main subjects, etc. Most often there is not a combination of these that equates to an image worthy of a big sheet of film. However, I have found that some of these individual elements make for amazing natural abstracts all by themselves.

As I encountered these amazing natural gems more often, I began capturing them with my professional digital camera. The ability to shoot at very high speed with the professional DSLR makes it possible to capture abstract images that are caused by motion. The above grouping of images is a perfect example of this. As I stood on the river bank scrutinizing a clear reflection of the foliage on the far shoreline, a light breeze began to blow. To my amazement, the gentle, and non-uniform waves that criss-crossed from side to side created extraordinary patterns within the reflection. As I composed one small piece of the waters surface, the image changed noticeably with the motion of the waves. It was exciting to click away, realizing every image was unique. 

The benefit to observing strong abstracts like these is twofold. Firstly, I have now begun to create an entirely new and different portfolio of work that is a complete departure from my "brand" of large, finely detailed traditional landscapes. Secondly, my large format film compositions are being further strengthened by my heightened awareness of each piece of the composition. I am now seeing a little differently, and I'm a bit more open to the strength of the whole image based upon the sum of its parts.

I hope this post will encourage you to see things outside of your "normal" style. Not only might you find a new style of image you enjoy, but it may add something to the style you have been working on. That is the beauty of photography, the possibilities are endless. Ironically, as I have opened up to this new way of seeing, I have also moved toward a more traditional methodology with my big film work. Every aspect of photography seams to compliment the others, if you stay open to it.

Aspen Impressions Grouping II

  I have created a new "shop" on my website which is comprised entirely of natural abstract groupings of images. I hope you enjoy the diversity found within this portfolio. I'd love to hear what you think. If you are interested in purchasing from the shop, use discount code FIRST20 at checkout for a 20% discount. Visit the shop

Enjoy the view!

Jon Paul