For a few months now I have been practicing intimate landscape photography (sometimes referred to or related to minimalism in photography).
In todays episode we delve into what is intimate landscape photography, why I love it, and how to practice it!
What is Intimate Landscape Photography?
Intimate Landscape Photography in a nutshell is when you don’t try to cram everything of the scene into the frame.
You focus on a specific element of the scene - line, shape, colour, texture, light, etc.,
Why I Love Intimate Landscape Photography?
I find with intimate landscape photography it forces me to slow down, focus and see the landscape differently.
Instead of trying to see everything I can pin point something specific about the scene that I love or catches my eye and focus on that.
You can also practice intimate landscape photography anywhere and anytime. I would love to photograph the epic sprawling landscapes of Iceland but with intimate landscape photography I can capture beautiful moments in my own backyard or hometown.
How to Practice Intimate Landscape Photography?
The next time you go out for a walk, visit a local park, or explore a new location try to pick out details that you love about that place and focus on that.
For example, a few times a week I go for an evening walk along Lakeshore Road and on my evening walks I always pass these houses that I especially love in the fall because the trees are this vibrant orange colour.
It’s the colour of the trees that catch my eye and make this scene beautiful to me so I’ve focused my frame on that.
Here are some more examples:
I took this photo at Gyro Beach in autumn. I wanted to focus on the juxtaposition of the beach hut against the autumn leaves.
This photo was taken at Okanagan Mountain Park the site of the 2003 fire. Here I wanted to focus on the contrast between the regrowth and the charred tree stump.
The following leaf photo I took at Mission Creek Park in Kelowna. I wanted to focus on the bleeding of the autumn colours from orange to yellow to green.
This photo was also taken at Gyro Beach and I loved the spherical bubbles that would sometimes form and the line that was drawn in the sand when the wave would come in.
Lastly, this photo was taken at Kasugai Gardens in Kelowna, BC! A common feature in Japanese gardens are these stone lanterns so I decided to focus on this beautiful stone lantern for the photo.
Intimate Landscape Photography can be really fun and creative!
I would love to hear if you ever tried intimate landscape photography and if you liked it or not - so comment on the YouTube video!