Abstract Landscape Photography
Abstract landscape photography offers big emotions for intimate landscapes.
See the exquisite detail of our natural world with the beautiful abstract landscapes below.
“My emotions, instincts, and interests are all with nature.”
Intimate landscapes bring you closer to the land.
And feeling closer to the land, you are grounded.
Eliot Porter coined “intimate landscapes” and introduced America to focus on the grand landscapes’ detail. Sweeping vistas offer stunning views, but less is more in abstract nature photos. Trying to capture those big scenes overwhelms me. Instead, my style is seeking a smaller story. The middle ground between the big vista and the tight close-ups requires us to consider what contributes to the big picture.
Abstract landscape photography nudges you to embrace the wonder in the natural world.
the grand landscape, I look around for the vignettes to try to create something new. Then, if I’m lucky, I find myself in the right place at the right time and witness an unrepeatable moment. For instance, I wanted to photograph an ancestral ruin in the Grand Canyon. I’d never been to that location before. As I assessed the scene, I wasn’t sure if the ruin would go into darkness as the sun set behind the canyon walls. The setting sun lit up the top of the hill and ran a beam of light right to the structure in front of me. But only for a few seconds.
Beautiful abstract nature is all around us.
But to capture that beauty, we have to pay attention. I remind myself to walk around from different angles. Perspective was a lesson that an old building tried to teach me. I took a photo of an old lumber mill, thinking the antique glass in the windows would make an excellent abstract close-up shot. But, as I worked with my camera, I was confused. Why did the color blue keep showing up in my photos? Then I stepped away from my camera and backed up. What I failed to see right off was that this old building was trying to show me the reflection and how beautiful the blue sky over the meadow behind me was in the glowing afternoon sun. So I took a lesson that day on perspectives.
Intimate landscape photos remind us of connection.
We spend so much time inside. But we can still surround ourselves with abstract landscape photography in our homes and offices as a reminder of our connection with the natural world. Abstract landscape photos reinforce our gratitude for the beauty in nature and the wonder of special moments we get to experience out there.
When you seek simplicity in your decor, look for a place where abstract landscape photography can help you convey mood and emotion. Isolated elements like a single tree, a lone structure, a crashing wave, or a close-up of a sensual curve in dunes form a simplified scene; this pulls you into the story and connects you with nature. Abstract landscape photography is like bringing the outside indoors to work its magic on calming and bathing you in wonder.