The Intimate Landscape

Widely associated with Eliot Porter, the individual who is also credited with making color photography respectable, the intimate landscape is a subset of the broader landscape photography genre.  The term itself is one that nature photography enthusiasts encounter frequently, but its meaning has always proven to be a bit elusive.  Just what is an intimate landscape?

Birch Tree Twins, Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan

I’ve often found that one of the best ways of describing what an intimate landscape is, is by describing that it is not.  When we think of landscape photographs we often envision what is commonly referred to as the grand landscape.  Grand landscapes are generally broad, sweeping scenes, where the very size and breadth of the setting serves as a conceptual embodiment of the broader category.  As a matter of scale, the intimate landscape is something more circumscribed than that.  In nuts and bolts terms, the intimate landscape ordinarily excludes the sky; it typically involves a limited number of compositional elements; it generally does not rely on scalar relationships for impact; it frequently (but by no means always) includes abstract or semi-abstract renderings; it does not rely on magnification to emphasize its significance, as close-up photography does.

Reeds & Lily Pads, Chain O'Lakes State Park, Illinois

The inclusion of the word “intimate,” moreover, implies more to me than mere matters of proportion.  “Intimate” suggests a certain emotional proximity or association: between the elements of the image; the image and the photographer; and the image and the viewer.

Lichen Wall, Acadia National Park, Maine

Intimacy also implies, in a somewhat more tangible sense, a certain simplicity of composition, with an image’s center of interest reduced to a foundational level:  a pattern, a melange of colors or tones, a set of textures, or something similar…or perhaps a combination of these things.

Driftwood & Beach Stones, Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington

Also in contrast with the grand landscape in particular, the intimate landscape seems to exude a personal connection between the photographer and his/her subject matter–another nuance of the term “intimate.”  The intimate landscape image often includes superficially prosaic elements that are rendered in unique manner, either visually or emotionally…or both.  Unlike the great vista, for instance, or light-infused sunrise/sunset, the intimate landscape often includes elements and encompasses scenes that the average person–and even the better-than-average photographer on an average day–is inclined to bypass without a second glance.  In my view, a successful intimate landscape image is seldom the kind of photograph that makes your jaw drop when you first view it; it’s typically more subtle in its impact.  It’s usually the kind of image with layers of reinforcing impact that are teased out slowly with repeated viewings.

Backlit Tree, Newfound Gap Road, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

The successful intimate frequently causes the thoughtful viewer to query the photographer thus:  “how did you see that?”  The answer is precisely the intimacy–between the photographer and the rendered scene–that the term conjures up in the first place.

Prairie Trillium, Illinois Canyon, Starved Rock State Park, Illinois