Pixiq

Speaking from the other side of the pond and then some, I have always drawn inspiration from the works of American landscape photographers. OK, there is a certain ‘majesty’ of scenery in the first place but the very best practitioners have always captured the essence of a place.

One of the things I do when returning to the UK is a quick survey of the magazine rack in the forlorn hope that there might be a little something beyond a mere catalogue of cameras that will occupy my attention for more than five minutes.

Sadly, this is usually doomed to failure especially when it comes to a repetition of images showing competence but which are just copies of styles set by a few truly excellent people  such as Joe Cornish, David Noton, Charlie Waite...who do it all much better. There are far too many ‘creations’ using HDR imagery that have a look of bland artificiality – seemingly, very few people can use the technique convincingly. The general level of imagery is about as subtle as a child smearing peanut butter on a window pane.

So, how wonderfully refreshing to see image after superb image from someone who has mastered the gift of capturing the ‘spirit of place’ in a landscape…or indeed of anything else he does. The name, which will be known to many, is Guy Tal whose combination of technical mastery and artistic vision is superb. Here, is his latest ebook - Intimate Portraits of the Colorado Plateau where he continues the distinguished American lineage of photographers able to capture images of the majesty of American landscape that leave you open-mouthed. Sure, many iconic images exist of  the Colorado deserts showing their landforms, colours and ruggedness but this book is special for one man’s love of the place is apparent in every shot. Images of sandstone features such as slot canyons appear time after time on magazine covers and have become, to some extent, a cliché…yes, a beautiful one but a cliché nevertheless.

Guy Tal has the uncanny ability to take even the most well-worked of sites and to reveal something different through his use of light, the time of day, angle of view - all those compositional elements combined with the subtlety of a master creator.

If you think this is mere eulogy with florid language then please take a look at a this remarkable ebook - a jungle telegraph had me accessing the site and parting with cash via Paypal within seconds.

Guy Tal is also a thoughtful, articulate writer whose short descriptions and longer section breaks outline clearly his philosophies whether they are of conservation or of ‘art’ in the hands of a photographer. Here is someone who uses minimal manipulation – just enough, in fact, to recreate the image and to restore any losses in the taking but not to change it. You might want to think again if you mistakenly believe that the only way you can capture a full tonal range with the digital process is by merging a set of images with HDR .

In the course of my work I view thousands of images weekly (often weakly…) – many of them superbly crafted and very umm, er nice: but no more than that. Just occasionally, I encounter something truly inspirational and that is why I have posted this for I found going through the ebook  breathtaking. Here you have 146 pages of images each of which is remarkable in itself and it will cost you just  $9.95 though I bet that what you will learn just by looking is immeasurable – things like this do not just happen: it is a fusion of great talent, perception and dedication. As you may have guessed, I rather like this ebook!

Not unreasonably, Guy asks that you buy the book rather than copy it since this is part of the way he earns a crust…but for those who genuinely cannot afford to pay he is prepared to supply a copy free. I would hope that deters the freeload merchants who believe everything should be free as long as they don’t have to put in any effort.

All images copyright of Guy Tal