One of the goals of my photography is to create images that have a sense of mystery and the surreal. Photography is so often based in pure realism, but I find that I am attracted to images that give a glimpse into fantasy or imaginary worlds. Many of my friend DAVID WINSTON’S photos have such a quality and I have also mentioned MICHAEL KENNA more than once. Although their subject matter is very different from my own, I am inspired by the photography of NICK BRANDT and GREGORY COLBERT.

In my photography I am often trying to show familiar subjects and locations in a way that is familiar while at the same time mysterious and fantastical. Unique perspectives, purposeful composition, extreme weather, motion and magical lighting can often create something extraordinary in an ordinary setting, but such conditions are not always available. Recently I have been experimenting with some techniques, both in the camera and in the computer, that give me more options when trying to achieve something mysterious and stylized.

Three of the oak forest photos accompanying this article are from a series I call Griffin’s Dream. I used a slow shutter speed (about .4 seconds or more) and panned my camera vertically during the shot. This caused the trees and grass to blur into streaks of light and dark that look somewhat like brush strokes and help to remove fine details from the scene, leaving only the main elements of form and color.

In the right kind of light, panning, zooming and other camera motion effects can create a great final image. However, for the Griffin’s Dream series the light was very flat giving the scene low contrast and washed out colors, so I employed a second technique to arrive at the final interpretations. In order to increase saturation, contrast and dynamic range in the initially lifeless images I used different combinations of blending modes in Photoshop. Darkroom technicians first developed the practice of stacking transparencies or negatives in various ways to produce different effects, and similar effects can be achieved with blending modes in Photoshop. To use blending modes you start by creating one or more layers that are exact copies of your original image (Layer>Duplicate Layer). Then in the Layers Pallet select each layer in turn and change the blending mode in the drop down menu at the top of the pallet. The blending mode defaults to “Normal”, which means that no blending between layers is taking place. For low contrast images I find that a combination of Multiply, Overlay and Soft Light blends work the best, but you have to experiment and see what works for each image. I also individually control the degree of each blend using the Opacity slider on each layer. I think the final result is painterly, surreal and fantastical, more like an impressionistic painting or a forest vision from a child’s dream.

In the Rogue Valley we get a serious vetch bloom in May. There isn’t a lot of color variety, but it covers large areas of the surrounding hills, literally turning them purple.

One evening in mid spring this year I was frantically driving around attempting to be in the right place for the best light during an approaching thunderstorm. I missed catching a rainbow and lightning and several other locations just didn’t pan out. I finally was forced to pull over, jump a fence and run up a hill at the last minute to grab this shot right before the sun went down. Then it started to rain. I like working under pressure if I can come away with a shot…otherwise it makes me want to huck my camera off a cliff.

Canon 5D, 16-35mm f/2.8 @ 16mm, 3 stop NDG, dual exposure manual blend of .5 sec @ f/18 and 1/8 sec @ f/18.

More…

This photo was taken at the summit of 17,500-foot Gokyo Ri in the Mt. Everest Region of the Himalayas in Nepal. Gokyo Ri, while much higher than any mountain in the US outside of Alaska is really just a small hill in the Himalayas. It is located above the third lake in the Gokyo Valley which lies directly to the west of the Khumbu Valley, the main drainage leading from the base of Mt. Everest’s south side. From the Gokyo Valley Mt. Everest is obscured from view by a high ridge of peaks running between the two valleys. However, those who make the additional effort to ascent Gokyo Ri are rewarded with a grand view over the intermediate peaks to the world’s highest peak beyond. At least they are when the summit of Gokyo Ri is not enveloped in thick clouds as it was when I arrived. Shivering in the cold wind and physically exhausted by the steep climb at such a high altitude I was disappointed not to see the vista I had been anticipating. However, it was still powerful knowing that I was standing on the brink of a great drop and that the large peaks of the Himalayas spread out beyond my feet. I could almost feel the gravitational pull of Mt. Everest’s huge mass out there in the fog.

Even without the view of the mountains, the strings of Tibetan prayer flags blowing in the swirling wind and fog and isolated from their surroundings created a powerful image in my mind. Despite cold and fatigue I set up my camera and took several shots. I think the one above best captures the sense of windy isolation I experienced on top of Gokyo Ri that day.

On the descent the fog thickened and it began to snow. For a while I lost the trail and veered off course before coming out below the clouds and making my way back to the village at dark.

Fortunately I was able to stay in Gokyo for a while longer. Two days later I made the climb again before dawn under clear skies. The sun rose directly behind Mt. Everest sending out rays of light across the valleys and peaks. The second photo is one I took that morning not far from where I had taken the one in the fog two days earlier.

Canon EOS 5D

28-135mm lens

First Image .6 sec @ f/36

Second Image 1/60 sec @ f/6.3 with fill flash

Gitzo Carbon Tripod