Abstract | Russ Bishop Photography | Nature Photo Blog

April 4, 2014October 30, 2015

Visual Abstraction

Bare trees, Yosemite National Park, California USA

As landscape photographers the natural world provides us with an unlimited source of subject matter and inspiration. Much of the time we choose to let nature dictate the scene, creating “straight photography” as Ansel Adams referred to it, by selecting a lens and exposure that will faithfully record the natural beauty we see before us.

Unfortunately conditions in the wild are not always ideal and often we’re forced to adjust our approach to image making. Flat light, wind, or a recent fire can all derail our idea of the perfect landscape. But, as I’ve mentioned previously, this is where we need to think outside the box and go with the flow creatively. The pure images might have to wait for another day, but the glass is half full. A whole new world of visual storytelling is waiting to happen for those willing to give their tripod the day off and think of their camera as a brush and canvas.

The term abstraction (from the Latin abs, meaning away from and trahere, meaning to draw) is the process of taking away or removing elements from something in order to reduce it to a set of essential characteristics. Merriam Webster defines abstraction as “art unconcerned with the literal depiction of things from the visible world”. In short, we want to know that it’s a tree or a flower, but beyond that we’re free to roam aesthetically.

Abstract photography is becoming increasingly popular these days as a form of self-expression. By imparting mood and feeling, in many ways abstracts provide a stronger emotional bond between an image and its audience than a straight image. Much like seeing the world through a new lens, the idea here is to intentionally create art and not document reality. Motion blurs, pans, and zooms at a slower shutter speed are typical techniques for creating natural abstracts, but the possibilities are endless.

The next time mother nature is being uncooperative and the straight photography is leaving you uninspired, take a detour and have fun with this liberating technique. Your inner child will thank you, and all you have to remember is that there are no rules and you can’t make any mistakes.

“Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.” -David Alan Harvey

April 16, 2013November 6, 2015

Monet’s Garden

Tulips in Claude Monet’s garden, Giverny, France

Spring has arrived and with it our favorite blooms from around the world are emerging from hillsides, in meadows, farms and gardens. From dogwood in the Sierra Nevada to cherry blossoms in Washington and Tokyo, the sweet scent of the season fills our senses, while the profusion of color fills our memory cards with a visual feast.

Perhaps one of the most famous displays in the world is in the small quiet village of Giverny France, not far from the bustling sidewalks of Paris. It was here that Claude Monet spent the final years of his life and designed the magical garden that inspired many of his most famous paintings.

Today, thanks to the Claude Monet Foundation, the gardens adjacent to his home are much as they were a hundred years ago with an amazing variety of plants and flowers. It’s easy to get lost in the endless sea of color while imagining Monet, who was also an excellent gardener, lovingly tending to his muse.

I found the tulips particularly captivating with their vibrant form and patterns. In my own interpretation here, I couldn’t resist applying a bit of impressionism as I felt the master’s presence guiding my lens.

February 5, 2010January 10, 2020

Chaos Theory

Windblown rocket contrails at dusk, Ventura, California

Chaos is a term often used these days to describe our lives or our economy, but it’s also a natural concept that describes the non-linear ways in which nature moves. Chaos theory has its origins in the 1960’s when meteorologists first studied weather patterns and determined that the smallest factors could dramatically change the outcome. Edward Lorenz discovered that something as subtle as a butterfly’s wings could create an extreme variation in weather simulations, which became known as “the butterfly effect”, and explains why it’s impossible to predict the weather with 100% accuracy.

Examples of chaos theory in nature include the movement of the ocean and wind, the escape pattern of an animal, water flowing down a river, and climate changes. They all have unpredictable but logical results, which means that we won’t know exactly what’s going to happen next but it will make sense when it does. From a photographic standpoint chaos often creates a wonderful palette of form and color that leaves us with a sense of awe at the natural world around us.