The term yesterday’s news is usually meant to be a negative expression, but in this post it is the highest of compliments.
I’m going to dig into the past today, but not my past. I’d like to share a few images from the late/great adventurer and photographer Galen Rowell. His Mountain Light Photography still lives today. He redefined how we look or at least think about light. If anyone doubts that he was the ultimate adventurer/photographer, that is indeed Galen on the side of that mountain in our first picture today. All of his images below were made on 35mm slide film. Other than the use of graduated neutral density and polarizing filters, his work was straight forward. He used a mixture of exposure, composition and being where he needed to be when he needed to be there, to accomplish what he did.
While I love studying the work of others, I will admit that very few image makers have had much of an influence on me. I prefer to find my own way. Galen’s Mountain Light book did change the way I look at different types of light, and his spirit of adventure did inspire me. I will always be appreciative of those facts. Mountain Light
In my last post I sang the praises and shared the work of Guy Tal. I now see that Guy will be teaching workshops for Mountain Light. What a great decision. Guy has a very different style than Galen did, and I think that variety would make Galen happy.
Brett Weston was a contemporary of Ansell Adams and a member of the F64 Club. That was a club of b&w photographers using the large formats of 4×5-8×10. His father Edward and brother Cole were also well known photographers. All three are deceased. He seemed to prefer natural light and the great outdoors to his father’s studio imagery. His influence in b&w photography with his use of contrasts is still felt today.
No matter what we do in life, somebody came before us and made it possible or at least better. I have always given Galen Rowell the credit for making color photography, especially nature, an accepted art form.
Owing to the fact that I am alive and my picture for the day was only made a few years ago, I won’t yet consider myself Yesterday’s News.
Having featured two great landscape photographers, I thought I would end today with a bird photo. Without question it is the bird that is the artist in this image. Great Egret.
Thank you for stopping at Earth Images, Wayne
P.S. It might be because I am writing about the past today, but originally I accidentally wrote Thank you for shopping at Earth Images, instead of Thank you for stopping at Earth Images. Indeed a page from my past.