Landscape/Nature Photo Art – Spring/Early-Summer 2022
Here are a collection of photos captured from late April into the middle June, 2022, mostly from the river valley at Edmonton, Canada.
The following set of photos are of flowers in bloom at the St. Albert Botanic Park (2022 June 20)
Autumn, as Expected
My last two posts on this blog have featured abstract photos, and black and white photos, that I took in Edmonton’s river valley on September 17th, 2018. In this post I conclude sharing some more photos from that same photo session. These ones though are a bit more typical of most people’s expectation of colorful fall photos:
Alberta Landscapes (Painting Series, Before and After 2010)
In my previous blog post I shared my Alberta landscape paintings from the particularly busy year of 2010. In this post, I share my landscape works from a couple years before and after that year.
“Red Deer Field and Trees (study)”, oil on hardboard, 20 x 25 cm, 2007
“Canola Fields I”, oil on canvas, 51 x 76 cm, 2008
“Canola Fields II”, oil on canvas, 76 x 51 cm, 2008
(See the previous blog post for Alberta landscape paintings from the year 2010)
“North Saskatchewan River”, oil on canvas, 61 x 91 cm, 2011
“Storm Approaches” acrylic on hardboard, 61 x 91 cm, 2012
“Dark Treeline”, acrylic on canvas, 61 x 91 cm, 2012
“Bend in the North Saskatchewan River”, water color on paper, 10 x 15 cm, 2012
Trees of Late-Winter
Here is a little collection of photos of trees, taken on the last day of winter (2016 March 19) in Edmonton.
Greenless Golden Path
Tangle to the Sky
Under the Spruce, Between the Fairways
Character Tree
Gnarled Trunk and Twiggy Shadows
Way Up
Killing the Plein Air Mood
It was a beautiful sunny morning after a couple of cooler days. It was also my last opportunity to gather some plein air images for printing. What type of landscape I wanted to capture, I wasn’t sure, but I was confident I’d know it when I saw it.
Perhaps a receding fenceline?
Or a grassy field backed by the forest: 
Maybe a bending path: 
Or a little creek 
There’s a tree with some character worth capturing: 
Maybe some wild flowers? 
A path through the shaded woods? 
Ah finally, this is it: 
A colorful edge of a field with some attractive curving lines. I walked up and down the bit of trail overlooking this scene. There was no great place to sit so I chose a spot in the grass at the side of the trail. I got out my watercolor paint sticks and yupo sheet and sat down. But, 
What’s that … an ant? No not AN ant, hundreds of them. The ground was swarming with them. They were soon all over the supplies that I had set down on the ground and before I knew it they were also crawling over me! I picked up my stuff and frantically started brushing off the ants as I got the heck out of there. My initial thought was to move along and find a nearby place to try again – but I was spooked! I ended up deciding to just collect some photos for future reference and head back to the (safety and comfort of the) studio.
Urban Orange
A little photo series that I shot today (2015 February 23) in Edmonton.
Rising from the Orange
Gravel Remembrance
Up
Expression Orange
Evening Orange
Credit to a Curator
It might be said that a curator (of an art exhibition) is doing their job when they aren’t even noticed or thought about by the visitor to an exhibit. Most of the time, I never give any thought to who the curator was or how well they did their job. The exhibit either works and I enjoy it (the art work presented) or it doesn’t really make an impression on me so I just move on.
Last week though, while visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery, I found myself thinking “This shouldn’t be working but it does – Who curated this?”
The exhibit I refer to is “Emily Carr and Landon Mackenzie: Wood Chopper and the Monkey“, described in the exhibition guide:
Engaging in a dialogue with the work of eminent British Columbia artist Emily Carr, Vancouver-based painter Landon Mackenzie presents three thematically arranged galleries with more than 50 artworks that collectively span over 100 years of landscape paintings by these two artists.
Why I was skeptical about this exhibition working is because I hold Emily Carr in such high esteem. I couldn’t imagine presenting her work with anyone but, say Tom Thomson or the Group of Seven members. Landon Mackenzie is a contemporary artist, born in 1954, whose work while including some landscape elements also extends to large abstract paintings that at first glance would seem to have no way of being connected to Carr’s work. Somehow though, the juxtaposition of the work of these two artists works and delivers and pleasing and meaningful experience.
images of paintings by Mackenzie and Carr (from the Exhibition catalog)
This exhibit runs at the Vancouver Art Gallery from 2014 September 20 to 2015 April 6. Incidentally this exhibit is the fourth in a series of exhibitions pairing Carr’s work with that of contemporary artists from the region. It was the first one that I’ve seen (or was even aware of) but my interest is piqued.
Oh, yes, the curator? Grant Arnold, Audain Curator of British Columbia Art – BRAVO!
Artistic Retreat
For the second year, the first week of July has been an opportunity to escape the city and normal responsibilities for the serenity of the countryside and the inspiration of being around like-minded artists.
My makeshift outdoor studio
A group of 12 painters gathered at the Lazy M Lodge in rural central Alberta for five days of rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.
Alberta countryside near the Lazy M
The North Raven River beside the Lazy M
My main goal for the week was to focus on painting but I knew my eye would be drawn to many more sights than I could attempt to paint. Therefore my camera would be close at hand and be put to good use capturing references for current and future landscape paintings as well as for some things that are just more suited to photographic images than paint.
My goals for the week were pretty loose but I did want to focus on landscape painting and I did want to work larger and looser with acrylic than I had done the previous year. So I did away with the backpack and pochade box and working on by 9 by 12 inch boards. This year I wouldn’t be packing my gear – I brought some medium size (22 by 28 inch; 56 by 71 cm) stretched canvases, a portable easel and a (5 foot long) folding table. I pre-mixed my acrylic paints half-and-half with a heavy gel to help hold the texture and to extend the working time. I also would use a couple of stay-wet, sealable palettes for color mixing. I used a split-primary color palette and would do mos of my painting thick and with a palette knife)
Paint for the week
Lazy M Driveway
Of course, my eye was looking not only for landscapes that I could paint quasi-en-plein-air but also for inspirations for future studio abstract paintings. I re-visisted my long-exposure with camera-motion technique to generate some of these ideas:
Green Between Pink
A project that the group of 12 painters undertook during the week was to produce this composite canvas (4 feet square) to be left at the Lazy M Lodge:
Lazy M Group Project
It wasn’t a highly productive week in terms of completed canvases. In fact I completed only 2 (and one is not a keeper). I got a good start on another couple of canvases forming a landscape diptych. Nonetheless, it was a very beneficial week – the rest and rejuvenation benefits can not be understated.
For more photos visit my Lazy M 2014 Flickr album.
Reference Photos for Painting
Photography for me is a means and an end. At times, I appreciate and strive for interesting good quality photographs. Other times I use photography as a jumping off point for my painting. In this post I share some recent photos that are destined to become painted images.
Abstract Landscape 426-048
Sometimes what attracts me to the image and make me want to use it in a painting is a result of an abstraction created during the photo-taking process. At other times (like in the image above) I discover what I am looking for through photo post processing – sometimes relatively minor tweaking of contrast, saturation and cropping. At other time I may explore some filtering options to enhance the image. On the above image I used an infrared film filter in the program Color Efex Pro 3.0.
Abstract Landscape 426-074
Abstract Landscape 426-030
Abstract Landscape 426-026
It is never my intent to make a photo realistic painting of a photo which has already been abstracted. My challenge is to capture the essence of whatever it is about the photo that appeals to me and to develop a technique in painting to maintain that essence.
Abstract Landscape 426-080
Losing the Landscape
In this post I share some recent abstract landscape photos. I’ve called this losing the landscape because I have pushed the abstraction to the point that the images may not read as originating from the landscape – but they all did.
Abstract 419-076
As I have done to create abstracted photos in the past, these were made using a 2 to 4 second exposure (with neutral density filters to allow that exposure). During the exposure IÂ move the camera about in a linear or rotational fashion, or just with a gentle random shaking.
This next image may be the most suggestive of a landscape, with the green and blue
 Abstract 419-102
Abstract 419-129
Abstract 419-138
Abstractions of the February Landscape
Color on the Trunk
This is another series of abstracted photographs. As I have shared previously, the technique I use is to employ a neutral density filter that allow me to use shutter speed in the 2 to 4 second range. During this long exposure I will move the camera – normally in a direction parallel to the lines I wan to emphasize. In the previous and next image I would have followed the line of the vertical trunk. Generally I don’t want too great a range of movement and might go back and forth over a short displacement during the exposure.
Morning Light
“Morning Light” was the result of a bit of a happy accident. I neglected to stop down my neutral density filter sufficiently to get a “proper” exposure. The image was over-exposed but still one I could work with in post-processing. I liked the over blown background exposure that resulted.
Abstract Landscape 381-104
Yellow at the Base
The yellow at the base of the tree (that you may be able to make out in the previous image was from the lichen that I typically find on the trees around the Edmonton region. Especially in the winter this color seems intense. However, straight out of the camera, these long exposure images typically do not have much color, so I usually will bump up the color saturation significantly to get an image that feels to me like what I was actually seeing/feeling.
The Edge of a Hill
State of Nature – a painting exhibit at the AGA
I’ve made three visits in the last couple of months to one particular exhibit at the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) and I suspect I will be good for at least two more visits before the show closes on February 20 2012. The show is State of Nature, Western Canadian Landscape Painting in the AGA collection, 1980 to the present. This exhibit is running concurrently with a couple of other complementary painting exhibitions Prairie Life: Settlement and the Last Best West 1930-1955 (just until 2012 January 29) and a Passion for Nature, Landscape Painting from 19th Century France.
While the Passion for Nature exhibit is larger and with some big names would probably be considered the more prestigious exhibit, I must say that State of Nature is my favorite! State of Nature features nine large works by Alberta and Saskatchewan artists. The paintings are bold and strong, some tending towards abstraction but all recognizable as landscapes and certainly capturing the essence of the landscape from the Western Canadian prairie and parkland. There were a couple of paintings that really connected with me, invited me to sit down in front of them, to absorb the atmosphere and be transported to a different place. One of these was David Alexander’s Swags in a Northern Swamp. This large (approximately 3 by 4 meters) piece features a dominant foreground swamp with reflections in the mid-ground.
My favorite piece in this exhibit is Rockface, Quiet Bay 2008 by Gregory Hardy. This large work dominates one’s field of vision with a rocky landscape refelcted in a lake. the colors are rather subdued but with a few exciting dabs of orange.
If you happen to be in Edmonton, with an opportunity to visit the AGA before February 20th be sure not to miss this exhibit. It is interesting in its own right but especially so when seen against the 20th Century French paintings and the other current AGA exhibits.
It’s All in the Wrist
I frequently have been achieving “painterly”, abstract effects on my photos through the use of intentional camera motion. By using a neutral density filter I am able to shoot at a 2 to 4 second shutter speed which allows me plenty of time to move the camera about, effectively painting with the available light upon my camera sensor. In general the effect is to soften edges and blur the image but depending on the type of motion, different results can be achieved.
Here was the basic scene (i.e regular shutter speed, no motion) that I used for the following demonstration:
Woods in Winter (normal exposure)
In this next image of the same scene I used a 4-second exposure and moved the camera vertically – more like tipping it forward and back using my wrists. This type of motion tends to preserve the vertical elements of the picture, such as tree trunks.
Woods in Winter (Abstraction I)
In this second image (again a 4 second exposure) I moved the camera rapidly in a horizontal fashion throughout the exposure. The effect is to soften, to blur those vertical edges. If there were a strong horizontal element it would of course have been reinforced. I like this motion for a landscape with a definite horizon line.
Woods in Winter (Abstraction II)
In this final variation I incorporated both vertical and horizontal motion – rapidly moving the camera back and forth horizontally for a couple of seconds, then moving it up and down for the last two seconds. The edges are soft and I like the grid like texture that results
Woods in Winter (Abstraction III)
Another of my standard “tricks”/requirements with these long exposures with camera motion is to increase the contrast and color saturation during post processing. Here, for example is tha last image straight out of the camera:
Woods in Winter (Abstraction III - un processed)
Just a Couple of Seconds
The title of this post is “A Couple of Seconds”, as in two-second exposures. For all of the images that follow, I kept the shutter open for a full two seconds. I had recently been experimenting with “long” exposure of 1/4 to 1/2 of a second, during which I panned the camera. I was growing bored with that technique and once I acquired a variable neutral density filter for my wide angle lens I was able to slow down the exposure considerably more!
I was obviously not after nice, sharp images so these photos are also all handheld. Not only was I not worried about keeping the camera steady, I in fact moved the camera in a variety of ways during the exposure! One technique that I discovered worked quite well was to walk during the exposure. I believe that is what I did for this photo:
Abstract Landscape 305-309
No digital filter were used on that last and the next image. All I did was increase the contrast, exposure and color saturation a bit.
Abstract Landscape 305-308
On this next one, I incorporate a twist of the zoom lens during the exposure:
Abstract 305-316
This next one was a horizontal pan of the camera. With a 2-second exposure one must be careful not to move the camera to fast!
Beside the River (305-353)
This next one was produced by a rotational movement during the exposure
Abstract Landscape 305-372
Next a skyline sunset with a diagonal camera movement (still with the 2-second exposure)
Abstract 305-386
A final experiment, where I took the long exposure photo and applied a color infrared film filter from Color Efex 2.0, to further abstract the image.
Abstract Landscape 305-376
Landscape Photos Abstracted
While at Red Deer College in the Series “Color in the Landscape” painting course, I always had a camera with me to capture reference photos for the  landscapes I would be painting (in a mostly representational manner). However, I could not avoid also capturing interesting photos purely for their abstract appeal. I particularly like to put the camera in motion to capture some atmospheric images. I find that the initial image is only half way to the finished abstract image. the post-processing on the computer is equally important for me to realize a satisfying final work. I typically use Capture NX2 to adjust contrast, saturation and to crop the image.
Abstract 238-032
Occasionally I will use a digital “filter” from Color Efex Pro to coax out a unique effect.
Abstract 238-034
A full moon, slow exposure and panning the camera provided the basis for this Rothkoesque image:
Abstract 238-057
In this next image I applied an infrared treatment with Color Efex to get the strong yellow/pink color scheme to an image which I already had achieved the motion blur by a horizonatal sweep of the camera during exposure:
Abstract 238-031
Hillside is one of my favorites of this group and is at the top of my list to turn into a painting. The colors, composition and motion all appeal to me in this image:
Abstract 238-067 (Hillside)
Color and Movement
Here are a number of abstracted photos taken on a cool July evening after a rainy, windy day. As I have been experimenting with recently , the technique is one of using a slow shutter speed (1/4 to 1/10 sec) Â and moving the camera during the exposure.
Post-rain Evening
Abstract 110708-519
Abstract 110708-529
Evening Landscape
Abstract 110708-536
I like the way motion can be used to blur the image, to obscure details that can distract from the strength of the color and patterns at the core of the image.
Painterly Photos
{EAV_BLOG_VER:a386f3aca84de097} – just an Empire Avenue verification tag
For nearly two months my DSLR camera (a Nikon D80) was out of commission being repaired. When I got it back I went kind of crazy. I walked around Edmonton’s river valley for a couple of hours in the evening and early night and snapped 300 photos! Not all of them are keepers by any means but I was pleased by the number that gave me something interesting to work with.
Abstract 110524-96
A big part of this photoshoot was experimenting with light painting with the camera. I had tried this back in the darkness of the winter but this was this first conscious effort to try it without the light source being lights. To create these I set the camera to a slow shutter speed (experimenting with a variety just under one second) and deliberately moving the camera in a direction complementing the subject matter. I love the painterly effect the motion, the blurring has given to the photos.
Abstract 110524-41
Abstract 110524-51
On some like the previous image I played around with the colors and values until the original subject matter is no longer guessable.
Abstract 110524-52
Abstract 1105240-91
Abstract 110524-36
Abstract 110524-49
Steps in Developing a Painting
Some people may wonder how I go about creating a painting. In this post I will share my steps in the development of a recent canvas.
This painting started off from a photo. The photo was one I took while out for a walk with our dog in Edmonton’s river valley. When walking I am usually carrying my Nikon D80 equipped with either a 18-55 or 55-200 lens. I took over 100 photos over the course of a couple of hours. This is the photo that inspired me for the painting:
original photograph
The broken tree trunk was the obvious central object that attracted me but I also liked the snow, some of the other tree forms and also the sky with the contrast between sky and clouds. I don’t like my paintings to be too much like a photo, especially with respect to color. Therefore I will often convert my color reference photo to black and white. I will want to get the values right but not be a slave to the natural colors. In the process of converting to black and white I will also take the opportunity to apply color filters and adjust the contrast/brightness. I use Nikon’s Capture NX2 software for the processing. This is my black and white reference photo:
enhanced black and white photo
I really liked the way the “red” filter turned the sky dark. What I didn’t like about the photo was how busy the mid-ground looked with all of the brush. Here I was able to apply my artistic license to clear out the million little lines and emphasize a few key tree elements. I may have done a few small thumbnail sketches to test out my idea , then I transferred my design to the canvas (12 by 16 inches/30×41 cm), drawing it in with charcoal:
charcoal sketch on canvas
You can see how much I have simplified the scene, taking liberties with the sky and the trees. From there it was time to start applying color. I did not refer to the color photo for the “real” colors. At this point I went with my gut to realize the colors that I somehow envisioned. In this case, I started by painting in the sky. You can see even at this stage I made some alterations to the design as I had drawn in with charcoal:
half-painted
The painting continued as I moved to the tree and foreground. Especially for these key elements I choose to apply the paint think and juicy.
"finished" painting
I call this work “finished” (in quotes) because it may not be. I see a number of things that I wonder if I could improve upon. I could continue to rework this painting but I generally I do not like to re-work, especially after the paint has started to dry. Instead I would prefer to live with this painting for awhile, thinking about what I like and noting what I think can be improved – and then I will paint another version. In fact with this one, I am thinking of a couple of small studies and then I will paint a larger version.
Link to more of my abstracted landscape paintings (often developed in similar fashion from photos)
Randall Talbot - Artist 