John Pfahl is an American landscape photographer, who decided to change the process of landscape photography to one of his own. Instead of just photographing the environment around him the way it appeared to him, Pfahl decided that he would begin to "alter" the landscape in a way that made the photographs more visually interesting. Below are two examples of this style in different compositions and places. The first, a beach, tree, and shoreline, and the second, a field with many sporadic haystacks:
The first photograph (top) is altered by placing cloth around the trees at the exact place where the water line begins and ends. Pfahl obviously considered this placement before he took the photograph, and this could have taken him a very long time to set up. The "altered landscape" is an idea that I would like to pursue some day, and the way Pfahl executes his vision is astounding.
The second photograph (bottom) is an idea that Pfahl used in many of his photographs as well. Instead of letting the viewer create his or her own perspective, he liked to set up a perspective that made your eye go through the photograph in a certain way. The yellow rope that is placed in this photograph takes your eye to the bottom of the photo, then moves your eye upwards toward the hay stacks and field behind the rope. If Pfahl was intending to have a direct impact in the way the viewer saw his work, he was very successful.
Joel Myerowitz
Joel Myerowitz is a photographer from New York City who is a master at finding interesting compositions and colors in his work. Nearly every image that I see of his incorporates great lighting and good depth of field. He usually keeps everything in an image in focus, allowing you to view everything for what it's worth. Some of his most famous work consists of images from Ground Zero after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. However, my favorite work of Myerowitz is his "Cape Light" series in which he photographs the cape environment and its intricacies.
This first photograph (above) interests me, but in a way also is awkward for me to view. The way that Meyerowitz places a pillar directly in the center of the image, and also has a boat partially behind another pillar leaves me uncomfortable. I wish that his images were a bit more structured because without that structure, I believe it leaves something to be gained.
Below is an image that I enjoy a bit more than the image above. The way he places the boats in the frame, and also chooses a very good time of day and weather scenario interests me. The monochromatic scheme is also an interesting concept, considering many photographs of the cape consist of many bright colors that really have a punch. This photograph truly stimulates the senses and is calming and relaxing, allowing the viewer to feel, hear, and almost smell what is around.
Overall, I believe Meyerowitz is successful in photographing the cape environment, and his best quality is the way he handles the light. You really get a sense of the place and are able to take in more of the environment than is even given to you.
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