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Leland Howard Fine Art Nature Images
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Fine Art Nature Wall Decor  |
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For a true artist, the tools of the trade become an extension of the self. For photographers, this is especially true. Anyone can pick up a camera, but mastery of cameras and of that ineffable eye that marks a body of work as uniquely individual, that mastery takes time. Leland Howard has devoted more than twenty years to his art as a nature photographer. Though the mechanics of photography are now second nature to him, seeing the image he wants to capture is a process that transcends words and is, in a sense, new every time. This freshness of approach is evident in the range of moods his photos evoke, and in the evolving sensibility of this artist from Idaho.
Leland Howard has an exceptionally detailed knowledge of the rough and tumble territory of Americas wild west. Areas that can only be accessed by hiking, backpacking and cross-country skiing are part of the challenge and part of the reward. The patience to wait out a storm, the diligence it takes to explore access routes that aren't on the map, these traits are just part of the toolbox for Howard. He takes them for granted, we revel in the results. |
| Howards many credits include diverse publications such as The National Geographic Society, Hallmark, AT&T, Sierra Press, Browntrout, Audubon, Healthy Planet, PhotoGraphic, Beautiful America Publications, Angel Graphics, Portal Publications, Outside, Blue Sky Publishing, Reiman Publications, Smith Western, Sierra Club, Great Mountain West, Western Image, Westcliffe Publishers, Northwest Publications and hundreds more. One of the most difficult ways to make a living as a photographer is to shoot wilderness images. Not only is the competition intense and the market limited, but such hardships as climbing a mountain in the pre-dawn darkness and adjusting camera settings with freezing hands are common place. To do it well, to do it without tiring of the fresh insights that wild places offer, requires a special mind-set and a heart that never ceases to be moved by what the eyes see. How does he do it? Mostly on foot. The route of the Continental Divide Trail in Idaho and Montana is about 980 miles long. As the sole photographer for two books, Leland added at least three hundred more miles to that tally, returning many times to capture images that met his exacting criteria. Idaho was the last of the fifty states to be entered by white men, and it is still a very rough and tumble territory in many ways. Mountainous (and potato-free) uplands cover 25,000 square miles of the state—5000 more than Switzerland boasts. With more than five million acres of designated wilderness, more than three thousand whitewater river miles, and eighty mountain ranges, Leland has a lot to work with in Idaho. But like most serious outdoor photographers, he crosses state borders like they weren't there. Only the landscape matters, not artificial lines drawn on a map. "Having hiked thousands of miles of trail in my lifetime, I had a feel for where the most logical place was to cut a trail. I tried to follow this contour line and sure enough I eventually found what looked like a route that had been cut decades ago. There were no stumps or sawed logs, just a different look to the brush that precisely followed the contour line. I was encouraged when I found this once-upon-a-time look continued around each fold in the terrain. Eventually I found sawed-off stumps, and remnants of an actual trail." Leland Howard, in northern Idaho. From the Snake River Plain to glacier-carved crags; from stony passes on windswept ridges shared with eagles, to sandstone sculpted by Utah winds, and the eerie gloom of a northern forest; from river courses spilling sunlight and water, to aspen trees spending their gold in the autumn winds, Leland has captured the essence of the "wild west." "Some of my images bring out details viewers would otherwise have missed. After seeing my work on designs in nature, one person said with conviction, "It doesn't really look like that." In a way, this was the ultimate compliment, because the images were not manipulated or computer-generated. Nature does indeed 'look like that'—and a good image artist can bring the viewer to a new awareness of nature's many faces." Leland Howard At what point does photography become fine art? As important as this question is, the answers may be elusive. It's not just a matter of rules involving composition, light, balance, focus, and exposure. Does the image demand the viewer's attention? Does it create a desire in the viewer to experience this place? Fine art photography allows the viewer to see through the artist's eyes. The viewer is brought to a level of appreciation that transcends technique and approaches the realm of feelings and emotions. Leland's approach is to keep coming back for more, using patience, persistence, and a unique perspective to fill his archives with unforgettable images. He studies his failures with a ruthless eye, and culls his best work repeatedly. |
