Landscape photography has been a grand convention through the photo world just about since the beginning of the technology. Great names through photography became familiar to generations: Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Elliot Porter, Galen Rowell.
Most everybody with a camera shoots landscapes at some time or other. Most people's holiday albums have some usually with the youngsters or family dog as the focus of attention. Yet landscape photography can be tough to do well. If a scene is especially stunning, it's regularly clear to the photographer what they should be taking a photograph of. But the well-practised or gifted cameraman can take what appears to be a standard or unimpressive scene and present it through a way that makes the viewer reconsider the entire business of seeing.
So who would think the gently-rolling farmland of the Palouse country of southeastern Washington could be such fruitful ground for landscape photography?
The landscape of the Palouse formed in the Pleistocene more than 10,000 years ago when enormous winds, common in that period, blew in massive amounts of soil from the out-wash plain of the great glaciers of the time. The result today is some of the best farmland anywhere and virtually each sculpted hill is plowed and planted with wheat, canola, garbanzos and other crops.
Routinely landscape photographers avoid the "hand of man" through their photos, but through this case, it can't be avoided and unnecessary. The Palouse country presents a treasure trove of farmsteads that are iconic Americana. Victorian and early Twentieth Century farm homes punctuate the borders of vast fields, especially colorful through the spring. Huge barns, many painted bright red, nestle between the hills, and make great points of stress for the photographer's landscape. Unfortunately, many of those barns are fast disappearing every year due to neglect - it's much simpler to maintain a much-less charming metal structure than one of the wooden giants.
Small farmer's towns like Steptoe and Palouse harken back to an era when agrarian life was the lifestyle for almost allmostmostAmericans, and these little towns also become subjects for the photographer's camera..
It is simple to become disoriented while driving in this country. Almost all of the roads follow the valleys at the base of the hills and in some places it's just about impossible to see the horizon notwithstanding the undeniable fact that the area is just about treeless. One place to get your bearings, not to mention some great shots, is at the top of Steptoe Butte, a 3,612-foot mountain of quartzite that towers above the encompassing hills. It's a good spot to come in the early morning or late evening to photograph the sensuous Palouse farmland in the "golden hour" of light.
The Palouse country offers an almost unlimited variety for landscape photography: panoramas, abstractions and glimpses of a kind of lifestyle no longer familiar to many North Americans.
Most everybody with a camera shoots landscapes at some time or other. Most people's holiday albums have some usually with the youngsters or family dog as the focus of attention. Yet landscape photography can be tough to do well. If a scene is especially stunning, it's regularly clear to the photographer what they should be taking a photograph of. But the well-practised or gifted cameraman can take what appears to be a standard or unimpressive scene and present it through a way that makes the viewer reconsider the entire business of seeing.
So who would think the gently-rolling farmland of the Palouse country of southeastern Washington could be such fruitful ground for landscape photography?
The landscape of the Palouse formed in the Pleistocene more than 10,000 years ago when enormous winds, common in that period, blew in massive amounts of soil from the out-wash plain of the great glaciers of the time. The result today is some of the best farmland anywhere and virtually each sculpted hill is plowed and planted with wheat, canola, garbanzos and other crops.
Routinely landscape photographers avoid the "hand of man" through their photos, but through this case, it can't be avoided and unnecessary. The Palouse country presents a treasure trove of farmsteads that are iconic Americana. Victorian and early Twentieth Century farm homes punctuate the borders of vast fields, especially colorful through the spring. Huge barns, many painted bright red, nestle between the hills, and make great points of stress for the photographer's landscape. Unfortunately, many of those barns are fast disappearing every year due to neglect - it's much simpler to maintain a much-less charming metal structure than one of the wooden giants.
Small farmer's towns like Steptoe and Palouse harken back to an era when agrarian life was the lifestyle for almost allmostmostAmericans, and these little towns also become subjects for the photographer's camera..
It is simple to become disoriented while driving in this country. Almost all of the roads follow the valleys at the base of the hills and in some places it's just about impossible to see the horizon notwithstanding the undeniable fact that the area is just about treeless. One place to get your bearings, not to mention some great shots, is at the top of Steptoe Butte, a 3,612-foot mountain of quartzite that towers above the encompassing hills. It's a good spot to come in the early morning or late evening to photograph the sensuous Palouse farmland in the "golden hour" of light.
The Palouse country offers an almost unlimited variety for landscape photography: panoramas, abstractions and glimpses of a kind of lifestyle no longer familiar to many North Americans.
About the Author:
Randy Green is a photographer and naturalist who leads wildlife tours around the world. He enjoys sharing photography tips in the field.
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