Landscape photography has always caught my interest. Catching the perfect picture of a mountain or wave with just the right angle or just the right amount of sun has always been fascinating to me. I never realized how much work went into getting these pictures perfect so imagine my surprise when I took a photography class in high school and none of my pictures turned out like the photos I used for inspiration. Last year a regular customer at my job who is a professional surfer starred in a movie about surfing in remote areas of Iceland, attempting to catch the perfect wave under the Northern lights. Of course I watched the movie when it came out on Netflix and everything about the scenery and the way the movie was filmed was breathtaking. I immediately googled the movie, "Under and Arctic Sky", and had to find the person behind creating this movie. That's when I found Chris Burkard. Burkard is an Amercian photographer known mainly for his landscape photography. I quickly pulled out my phone and followed him on instagram and was blown away by all of his photography. He travels all over the world to places like Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and so many others, capturing the most insanely beautiful pictures. His dedication to his craft is something I admire and find inspiring. Over the summer he traveled to Patagonia to shot photos of a remote lake that they had to hike to for a couple of days. When they arrived at the lake the fog was so bad you couldn't even see the it. Instead of getting angry or pissed off, Burkard explained they knew this was a possibility but sometimes its a risk you need to take if you want to capture the perfect picture. His work and passion for finding the perfect picture has not only inspired me to get back into photography but to travel! He goes to such beautiful places and it makes me see how much of the world I am missing out on. I've always put traveling on the back burner, pushing it further and further back and never actually making it happen. While I don't think I'll be going to Iceland or Patagonia anytime soon he also takes pictures of places in the United States that I never even knew existed. I don't think my photos of these places will ever be as good as Burkard's but I also think it's important for people to travel and experience new scenery and cultures which is what I plan to do! If I had never seen "Under and Arctic Sky", I may not have found Chris Burkard's work and have been inspired to see more than just the East coast! The photo I use for the background on blog is also one of Burkard's pcitures!
A video about Burkard's trip to Patagonia!
Thank you for introducing me to this amazing photographer. You'll note from his video clip that much of this is image imposted on voice over narration. He's giving us both his story and the pictures. You might consider doing the same thing with your own travels (you don't mention here where you've traveled). Landscape provides a very good metaphor for so many things---change, common humanity, perspective. You can use his influence to tell your own story--but it must be that, the story that you explore and tell in your own words (and images!).
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