Featured-01

January 13, 2009 ·

Michael Reichmann

This page features selected photographs from my portfolio taken during 2001
that I am particularly pleased with and for which there is an interesting story. 
Current entries can be foundhere

December, 2001

Pentax 67II and 55~100mm f/4.5 zoom. Provia 100F

An early December shooting trip to southern New Mexico took me to a couple of great photography locales‚ one for wildlife and one for landscapes.White Sands National Monumentis southernNew Mexico’sloveliest landscape photography location. This image was taken shortly after sunrise, and though the early morning light makes it look warm, in reality the temperature was well below freezing.

Canon D30 @ ISO 100 using a 400mm f/4 IS DO lens

Bosque del Apacheis one of the world’s hot-spots for migratory bird photography. Three days of shooting in the refuge was an opportunity to refine my wildlife photography skills as well as test-out some newCanonlenses. TheSandhill CranesandSnow Geeseco-habit this lake, yet as seen here lead very separate lives.

The making of these photographs will be featured inIssues #3 and #4ofThe Video Journal.

November, 2001

Photographed with a Leica M6 and Tri-Elmar @ 35mm on Fuji Provia 100F

I wrote recently on these pages "Great photographs don’t just happen. Sling a camera over your shoulder and head out the door to take photographs and you’ll likely best return with the newspaper and a loaf of bread. You’re not likely to stumble on a great image on the way to the Mall". 

This photograph was taken at a subway station just a couple of hundred yards from my home. This then is the exception that proves the rule. I was heading out to shoot the annualToronto Santa Claus Paradeand had a couple of Leicas over my shoulder. I don’t ride the subway very often and I don’t usually walk around my neighborhood with cameras around my neck. 

In this case, as the train was about to pull into the station behind me I saw this enigmatic figure standing in the shadows along with the strong converging horizontal lines of the platform. Serendipity.

October, 2001

Photographed with a Rollei 6008i and 300mm f/4.0 Apo-Tele-Xenar lens on Provia 100F

In late October,Chris Sanderson,the producer ofThe Video Journaland I spent 3 days driving the almost 600 mile length of the combinedSkyline DriveandBlue Ridge Parkwayon our way from Toronto down to myGreat Smoky Fall Colour Workshopin Tennessee.

Running from the outskirts ofWashington DCalmost toGeorgia, this continuous road is one of the most beautiful in the world. No stores, no billboards, no restaurants, no gas stations‚ nothing except a gentle two-lane road running through some of the most exquisite scenery in North America. 

Late on the afternoon of our second day on the road we encountered this bucolic scene. It encapsulates for me the serenity of this lovely highway and its surrounding countryside.

September, 2001

 

Photographed with a Hasselblad ArcBody and 35mm Rodenstock lens on Provia 100F.

I was shooting inSandbanks Provincial Parkwith another photographer, and at one point commented to him that though the area was quite interesting I was finding it difficult to find a composition because it was so "messy". Since nature is often messy I see it as a landscape photographer’s job to seethoughthe mess and to try and extract the essence of the subject. John’s reply was that I should, "Embrace the mess".

As we hiked the dunes this stuck in my mind, and when I came across these three trees, looking like so many abandoned telephone poles, the jumble of grass, dunes and limbs came together into a satisfying composition.

August, 2001

 

Photographed with a Voigtlnder Bessa-T and 12mm Heliar on Provia 100F

While I am primarily a landscape photographer who works in colour, all aspects of photography appeal to me. Recently my repertoire has expanded to include wildlife and travel as well asdocumentary street photography. The latter brings me back to my early career as a photojournalist in the ’70s.

This month’s entry is from that genre. It was taken in mid-August on theMidwayof a country fair. The image’s striking perspective was achieved through the use of the newVoigtlnder 12 mmlens. (A comparison with essentially the same frame, but taken with a 28mm lens, can be seen in my article titledVariations).

To get this frame I moved to within about 2 feet of the young man. I could have reached out and touched him. Since I was crouched down, seemingly photographing the ride overhead, I suppose he didn’t think that I was much interested in him. It also may have been that he was just too cool to care and saw me as just another crazy gray-beard. 

June, 2001

 

Photographed with aCanon EOS D30and28~135mm f/3.5~f/5.6L ISlens 

June offered little opportunity for photography since I was heavily involved with launching Issue #1 ofThe Video Journal. Therefore though actually taken in late May, it was June until I processed this image, so I guess I’ll consider it my June selection. 

It has become one of my favourite photographs taken so far this year. Shot while on vacation in Florence, Italy, I was walking over a bridge crossing the river Arno before dawn. A flock of birds came flying up the river towards me and I took several frames in rapid succession, none of which later turned out to be of any interest. But as they passed overhead I swung around and took this one frame as they receded into the distance.

May, 2001

          

Photographed with aCanon EOS D30and28~135mm f/3.5~f/5.6 ISlens 

Two photographs share the honors this month. Neither is strictly a landscape or a nature photograph. In fact both are from the genre of "travel photography", not my usual expertise but something I try my hand at from time to time. 

Both were taken on a vacation in theTuscanyregion of central Italy in mid-May. The first is of a fisherman on theArnoriver where it runs throughFlorence. First light is a wonderful time to wander about European cities as there is no traffic, crowds or open shops to distract and overwhelm the senses. There is peace and light. This seems to me to be a scene more from medieval than modern Florence.

These doorways are on the second floor of the world-famousUffizi Galleryin Florence. These rooms have been deserted for hundreds of years and are just now being opened to expand the gallery. I have received more comments on this photograph since it was first published in late May than any other this year. 

More photographs and a brief commentary on this trip can be foundhere.

April, 2001

Photographed with a Mamiya 7 II and 65mm f/4 lens

Driving back fromLake Powell, after my April 2001Master Classin the canyons of theEscalante Riverarm, we came upon this scene‚Mt. Hillersshrouded in a developing snowstorm, with the foreground sand and sage still in brilliant sunlight. I took a number of frames but the first one was the best, with the sun still almost visible behind the writhing clouds. Within minutes the clouds had thickened, the dramatic light had flattened and the magic was lost. This turned out to be the finest image of the 10 day trip. It’s lucky that we got there at just the right moment; but remember‚ "luck" is preparedness in the face of opportunity.

February, 2001

Photographed with a Canon EOS D30 and 100~400mm f/5.6L lens @ 400mm

While I’m primarily a landscape photographer I take pleasure in shooting wildlife when possible. This photograph was taken on a hike in the rainforest during a week-longtriptoCosta Rica.Howler Monkeysaren’t terribly large but in the early morning and the late afternoon, when a troop starts to howl, you’d swear that you were listening to the sounds of aTyrannosaurusfromJurassic Park.

I called this my400/400week since almost every photograph taken was with aCanonImage Stabilized zoom lens at 400mm and the ISO setting on the digitalEOS D30was always set to 400. This particular shot, taken on the first hike of the first day, turned out to be a lucky one because I never again was able to get this close to the Howlers under decent lighting conditions.

January, 2001

Photographed with a Hasselblad XPan and 30mm lens on Fuji Provia 100F

In early January, 2001 my wife and I went to a retreat in theBlue MountainsofJamaicafor a break from the harsh Northeast winter. I had plans to do some landscape work while there but upon arrival I came down with the flu and spent most of the week housebound in our cottage. (If you have to get the flu, Jamaica ain’t a bad place to have it). On top of it all, locals said that during the week we were there the weather was the cloudiest that they had seen in years.

On our last evening there I was feeling well enough to take a walk and just before sunset my wife and I headed out to stretch our legs. I took along theXPan,30mmand a table-top tripod. 

As we walked the heavy clouds that had hung over the mountains almost all week started to clear and a lovely sunset developed. Just moments before the sun dipped below the horizon I found a location to set my small tripod on and an arbor to use as a frame. The ocean is about 3,000 feet below where we were standing.

2000 featured images are foundhere

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Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.

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