I've viewed a LOT of travel-related photography and videography over the years. In the later category, one of my favorites is a short 2011 production by Rob Whitworth.
Be sure you have the music turned up for this one.
Today's Kids React to Yesterday's Cameras
The more I watched the more I laughed...
NASA Camera Captures Total Solar Eclipse from 1 Million Miles Away
via Giphy
PetaPixel reports that the NASA satellite “DSCOVR snapped its first photo in July 2015, so this view of a total solar eclipse is the first of its kind. Since the DSCOVR has a fixed view of Earth as it rotates on its axis, this is the first time the shadow of an entire eclipse has been documented in a series of photos.”
Incredible.
"Hush"
I ask for your indulgence with respect to my reflections upon this work. The following may seem somewhat overwrought, but I assure you there are no embellishments associated with such recollections of a most enjoyable and rather idyllic day.
No matter how many years elapse, there are some photographs which are indelibly linked to the incredibly vivid memories I possess of the inimitable and captivating environment in which these photographs were taken. “Hush” is perhaps foremost among these.
In other words, it is my great fortune to have an occupation which allows me to regularly surround myself with some of the earth’s most sublime and magnificent milieus.
When I reference the environment and its inherent connection to this particular fine art photograph, I’m speaking not only of the incredibly enchanting sights and sounds before me on this memorable day, I’m also speaking of the remarkably delicious smell and taste of the air as I breathe it in. Furthermore, I’m ascribing the feel of the earth underneath my feet as I traverse various aspects of terra firma including dirt paths, wet rocks, grassy meadows, and sandy creek beds.
Complimenting the intoxicating aura is the powerfully enveloping warmth of the bright and late afternoon sun streaming down from above.
The symphony of sound is composed primarily of an audio triptych of cascading water finding its home in the shadow of towering trees, the soft wafting of a summer breeze as it flows amidst the plethora of leaves and branches of the wooded hills, and the calls of various birds echoing everywhere overhead throughout the ravine.
“Disney, Kevin! You’re talking Disney here! Really?”
Pretty close.
“Any chance you saw specific and colorful characters from certain films with which we’re all familiar?”
Not quite.
Although I will not divulge its precise location, “Hush” was photographed in one of the many canyons of south-central Alaska. Such canyons represent one of my favorite places upon the earth. (They also epitomize a favorite spot for brown bears, so notwithstanding the stunning surroundings it is best to always be on one’s guard. And yes, Disney has also featured bears in its animations.)
The reason the work is entitled “Hush” is simply because the closer one gets to this enchanting stream, the more the soft resonance of the cascading waters muffle all other sounds. The atmosphere is at once one of hushed tones and almost reverenced ambience.
“Hush” is also a study in textures, as one of my foremost objectives as a landscape photographer is to visually represent (to visually evoke, if you will) the constituent nature of the terra firma before me. That is why the framing of this scene is perhaps a little more compressed than one might originally suppose from the description of the events of this photographic outing. My precise intent was to make the individual elements become much more tangible (the definition of the word being “capable of being touched; discernible by the touch; material or substantial”). By simply viewing this photograph I can still vividly recall such details as how surprisingly cold the water really was (having come quite recently and directly from the tops of the mountains), how smooth many of the rocks were to the touch, and conversely how rough was the feel of the bark on the fallen logs.
Surely I have given way to hyperbole in my descriptions? Not so. Else, why would I have returned to this exact same spot literally dozens of times in my photographic career. The Edenic qualities are, to me at least, addicting.
“Cross the meadow and the stream and listen as the peaceful water brings peace upon your soul.” — Maximillian Degenerez
As a direct result of the grandeur of a number of Alaska’s canyons, I’ve had the most fortunate opportunity to put such wisdom into practice. Indeed I consider myself auspicious in this regard.
Furthermore, I hope that this fine art photograph truly evokes the splendor of what, for me, is this little piece of heaven on earth.
What is "Medium Format?"
When I tell people that I work with a Hasselblad medium format camera — the H5D-40 — most people's immediate response is, "What is medium format?"
The first 4-5 minutes of this Hasselblad video is outstanding in explaining the difference between medium format photography versus 35mm photography.
“Immersion”
I’ve often been asked why water plays such an integral part of many of my artistic creations. In fact, it represents one of the most common inquiries when I’ve had the opportunity to speak with individuals who are viewing my work in person.
Water indeed factors as a seminal component when speaking of not only my creative but also my philosophical view of reality. It’s not just a constituent part of my biochemical and environmental surroundings. Instead, it serves as a metaphysical catalyst for many of my cognitive processes in the artistic realm.
Even more particularly, the symbolic, transcendental, and literal applications of water’s presence (or essence) represents a core component of my artistic expression.
Leonardo da Vinci declared that “Water is the driving force of all nature.” Furthermore, each one of us is aware of the fact that water can and does represent distinct and profound properties associated with all life on earth. It epitomizes not only the foundation of our physical and chemical makeup, it also evokes a distinguishing aspect of cleansing and healing as well.
All world religions have incorporated water in some integral manner. Water has been used as a symbol for birth (or rebirth). Water has been utilized as a symbol for death. Water has also been used to connote a cleansing and/or clarifying agent. Additionally, water has been symbolically utilized for millennia as one of the key components of the origin of life itself (think of the womb and how each one of us is literally born first into and then out of water).
Without water there is no life, both literally as well as figuratively.
“Immersion” represents a number of such themes. The colors, tones, and hues not only represent those which are familiar to me as a resident of Alaska and its often breathtaking studies in water, but also those specific motifs noted above.
Inherent in this work is also one of the most fascinating and one of my most cherished concepts as it pertains not only to nature but to life itself, an idea which was brought to my attention many years ago:
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.” — Heraclitus
Dégas and the Art of Dance
Ken Browar & Deborah Ory
Harper's Bazaar features a wonderful article this month on photographically recreating Edgar Dégas' the art of dance.
Chagall will always be my favorite with regard to the use of color, but Dégas (and Renoir, I might add) holds a special place in my heart.
Ken Browar & Deborah Ory
Whereas Chagall was simply unapologetic about his bold use of high contrast color, in my mind Dégas was only slightly less so. Dégas' colors naturally feature more subtle contrasts which enabled increased fluidity in his blending techniques.
Ken Browar & Deborah Ory
A wonderful recreation indeed!
Ken Browar & Deborah Ory
“Black and White No. 2”
“Simplicity is nature’s first step, and the last of art.” - Philip James Bailey
As its name implies, Black & White No. 2 is a photograph which was captured years ago and represents one of my most cherished works. At the same time, it likewise represents a fine art piece which I decided to withhold from public view until this point in time (for reasons which I as the artist shall keep to myself).
The essence of Black & White No. 2 is simplicity. As a landscape photographer, this work represents an artistic presentation of nature’s distillation of quintessence — things as they really are, in other words.
All of this may sound a bit too highbrow; the point being, Black & White No. 2 is my presentation of at least a certain aspect of nature “as it really is.”
Constantin Brâncuși was a Romanian sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On the subject of simplicity, he observed, “Simplicity is not an objective in art” — meaning that simplicity does not constitute the foremost ambition of an artist — “but one achieves simplicity despite one’s self by entering into the real sense of things.” (The emphasis is mine.)
The French novelist and memoirist George Sand — a pseudonym of course for Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin — delivered one of the most straightforward yet comprehensive statements on the subject of simplicity when she declared, “Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world; it is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius.”
In short, simplicity is most often incredibly challenging to achieve. “That's been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex.” (Steve Jobs)
Indeed.
“Peak Fanfare” and the Poetry of the Earth
“Storms are the poetry of the earth. The intensity, the emotion, the honesty, the music. The language of darkness and light.” - Victoria Erickson
The most essential aspect of “Peak Fanfare” is that it was photographed at the beginning of a summer storm in South-central Alaska. In capturing this scene, I felt a little like Bill Paxton’s character in the 1996 movie “Twister.” I was very much chasing after this storm.
I was driving much of the time not looking at the road, but rather looking up at the sky, observing the frenetic pace at which the wind, clouds, and the remarkably unique late summer evening’s light were all dancing.
But of course at the exact same time I also needed to find the precise aspect of terra firma to constitute a significant and profound contrast to the robust tango occurring overhead.
While I never divulge the exact locations of my landscapes — a few can be somewhat easily determined for those who have a solid familiarity with portions of Alaska — I will note that this specific locale was one I had canvassed many times prior to this capture. Thus, as the winds began to accelerate I found myself traversing very narrow trails at somewhat high speeds, the summer foliage whipping against the side windows and the windshield of my truck.
When I arrived at the scene I naturally exited the truck in haste and was nearly running with all of my camera gear in tow.
It was a fun day.