4 minute read
Capturing the unseen
Next Article
Capturing the unseen INTIMATE
LANDSCAPE
Gerry Phillipson ARPS
Gerry’s article has been previously published in RPS German Chapter eMagazine Q3 2024.
An intimate landscape is a photograph of a small part of the broader scene that people would only sometimes notice or pause to look at. It demands its own composition of the more minor details of colour, textures, patterns, lines, and shapes that create its character, mood, and atmosphere. While a group of photographers taking images of the same landscape will produce variations of the same scene, an intimate landscape is unique to the photographer taking it; it’s unlikely that anyone else would even see it, let alone photograph the same intimate landscape.
The term “intimate landscape” has been attributed to the American photographer Eliot Porter, who first exhibited fifty-five colour photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1979 titled Intimate Landscapes. Tim Parkin said, “Eliot Porter developed a vision of the landscape that looked closer, caught the natural chaos of the wild but in a way that showed the hidden structures.” John Berger wrote, “When we ‘see’ a landscape, we situate ourselves in it.” While considering an intimate landscape, our situation may feel enclosed by the limitations we set while composing the photograph. The selected intimacy of the subject is the opposite of the grand view in which we are miniscule.
The RPS Landscape SIG does not define “intimate landscape.” Still, I’m grateful for having had exciting exchanges with Joe Cornish, Tony Worobiec, and Carol Olerud with members of the Benelux Chapter.
Joe Cornish suggested that the intimacy was a matter of geography, that a close-up of a spider’s web with a fly might fit a nature brief, but if the web was shown on a bush with some background, it might be an intimate landscape.
Judging at what point “intimate” becomes extensive is a matter of judging. Studying Eliot Porter’s photographs makes it apparent that to achieve good, intimate landscapes, the image should concentrate on detailed aspects of the scene, its lines, shapes and colours.
I try to manage this by focusing on the structures and textures of, for example, trees and plants, the movement and reflections of water and, most importantly, the way the scene is lit.
“Intimate photography captures the quiet, unspoken moments that reveal the deepest truths of
“Intimate landscape photography is like poetry in nature. It’s about noticing the quiet stories told by rocks, leaves, and light.”
- Guy Tal
The slower deliberation of the process enables the photographer to concentrate on and appreciate the details. To interpret these best, the photographer needs to ask what has drawn his attention to the scene.
The answer draws on a personal connection to the landscape established by visiting the exact location several times: the forest path, the riverbank, the lakeside or the urban area.
When a photographer chooses to work within the disciplines of specific genres, it tends to make the photographic process slower and more mindful.
than the sweeping views of the world, the intimate landscape invites you to pause and appreciate the quiet elegance of nature’s smaller, overlooked moments.”
Shannon Kalahan wrote, “Intimate landscapes are a wonderful opportunity to practice your photography or flex your creative muscles during almost any light and weather. More importantly, because of its inherent flexibility, you can walk away from those sessions feeling like you’ve accomplished something - which is not always the case for grand landscapes. In that way, the skill of intimate landscape photography is a wonderful tool to have in your photographer’s toolbox. Photographing small, overlooked scenes allows you to be productive and feel accomplished no matter how crappy a sunset is, and what unexpected weather you stumble across.”
All photographs are copyright of Gerry Phillipson ARPS.
