FINE ART LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
What I like most about landscape photography has surprisingly little to do with a camera, and is far more about connecting with nature. My camera serves as an instrument to allow me to look deeper into the natural world to help me reveal how magnificent that world really is. The goal I have when I’m out with my camera is to share the equivalent of what I see and feel, and my relationship to that experience. In life, I think it is a blessing to be excited about anything. With photography, I’m always energised by the prospect of an outstanding shot and often feel a great sense of calm when I believe I may have captured something special. I choose to shoot with traditional film rather than digital media. It’s true that many others prefer high-end digital cameras for greater convenience, but for me the feeling of the shot is far more important. Film provides a natural warmth and depth. It requires a certain mental focus that, to me, represents more of a challenge and is a
process that I have always enjoyed. With the type of film I use there are only four shots per roll, so needless to say it is important to get things right first time round. The shutter button takes a splitsecond to press but most times I have spent hours and sometimes several days exploring the landscape and waiting for the right light in order to capture an image. The best images emerge after I have immersed myself in the landscape. Whenever I exhibit, it gives me great pleasure to see someone being drawn into a photographic image as if they are seeing something for the first time, when all they are really experiencing is what has been there in the natural environment all along. I think we all crave nature but don’t give ourselves enough of an opportunity to stop and truly immerse ourselves in it. It is from a love of natural places that I have come to produce my collection of images. If you would like to view the entire range, please visit the website, I sincerely hope you enjoy them.
Mesa Arch The sheer wall below Mesa Arch drops vertically 150 metres and reflects light from the rising sun up into the arch.
This tension between containment and infinity becomes radiant when the sun pierces the rock. It is as if the rock and not the film captures the sunrise.
The magic of this geological formation is that it leads your eyes through the arch and then down the gorge and then down to a vast canyon which is itself framed by more distant plateaus.
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah. June, 5.30am. Large format 617 film camera. f22/5 sec
Tidal River This photograph was taken in the middle of the day when the light is often too harsh to produce delicate tones and colour ranges. So I nearly didn’t take my camera on the walk along Loo Ern Track at Wilsons Promontory.
But a band of wispy clouds for a short while perfectly diffused the sunlight and let the blue sky reflect softly, revealing Tidal River in all its majestic stillness. The landscape became full of peace and presence. Tidal River, Wilsons Promontory National Park. October 1pm. Large format 617 film camera. f16/1 sec.
Sherbrooke Forest Lyrebirds live in Sherbrooke Forest, just 40 minutes from my home in Melbourne. It is my church. I go there when I need to clear my mind, be still and breathe the atmosphere that only a forest can offer. This clearing allowed me to frame a complete landscape within the lush sub-temperate rainforest and majestic Mountain Ash trees. To portray the feeling of being there. A feeling very much like meditation.
Sherbrooke Forest, Dandenong Ranges National Park, Victoria. November, 8.30am Large format 617 film camera. f16/1 sec.
Your space Choosing the right art for your home is an important decision. Wall art is the finishing element that can help pull a space together and make it feel complete. It brings life to a room, reflecting your style, and makes the space more interesting for family and guests.
Would you like to see how a framed print will look in your Home or Office before you purchase? Just choose an image from the Rick Plumridge website gallery, then email a photo of your space to: hello@rickplumridge.com We will then send you a visual of how it will appear on your wall. This is a free service - one per customer.
Silent Whisper Antelope Canyon is a sandstone canyon on Navajo land in Arizona. It was 38 degrees Celsius in the desert but temperate between the walls of the canyon. Rocks make cooperative stationary subjects, but as the light moves through and illuminates this remarkable landscape, it generates shifting patterns, different forms and shadows in crimsons, pinks, reds and oranges. The light
overhead produced a challenging contrast in the exposure of the upper and lower walls of the canyon. But all was still. And silent. A dry tumbleweed-like bush, its seeds blown in from the desert, had taken root among the rocks in a small collection of sand and dirt. It was the only sign of life, an unlikely inhabitant among the crevices of this kaleidoscopic stone canyon. Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona. June, 5.30pm. Large format 617 film camera. f22/2 sec.
Provenance The Daintree Rainforest runs between the Great Dividing Range and the Great Barrier Reef which come together north of Mossman at Cape Tribulation. Mossman Gorge, inland from Port Douglas, is a microcosm of this magical rainforest. Every boulder, river rock, tree and pool seems sculpted and perfectly arranged by nature. Exposed tree roots, boulders and foliage frame the peace and serenity of the Mossman River.
I needed to be patient for this shot while I waited for the scene to become perfectly still, as a twenty second exposure was required. Water is the provenance of the rainforest and an essence of this image. Mossman Gorge, Daintree Rainforest, North Queensland, June, 9am. Large format 617 panoramic film camera; f22/20sec
66 cm
132 cm
Studio - 132 cm x 66 cm
85 cm
185 cm
Lounge - 185 cm x 85 cm
Any print any size 243 cm
113 cm
Ballroom - 243 cm x 113 cm All the images that you see in the Gallery section on our website can be produced and framed to any size you like. These are our three most popular sizes, which will enhance any setting. If you need assistance hanging your art, we are happy to help, as we have a number of excellent solutions.
Frame suggestions
Olive timber square
Olive timber
Black
Framing The right frame will serve as a bridge between the artwork and your room. The frame you choose should complement the furniture and architectural features of the room. For example, if you have a wooden floor, a timber frame will suit this beautifully. Our most popular frames are by Bellini, as they are the best available and enhance the high quality and detail of the images, creating a true piece of artwork.
Silver
Too large
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Balanced
The right size
Hanging correctly
When selecting art, size is nearly as important as the piece itself. Art that is too large can sometimes overwhelm and art that is too small will be lost and look out of proportion. Measure the space you want to hang the piece and make sure you leave enough room so that the piece will not be crowded. If you would like assistance, email us a photo of your room and the Rick Plumridge image you are considering, and we can provide a free visual (one per customer).
As a rule, art is usually viewed at its best when the centre of the art is hung at eye level. If you need assistance with hanging your art, we are happy to help, as we have a number of excellent solutions using cord, wire or rails.
Pandanus Sunrise The east coast is one of Australia’s greatest natural wonders. Countless beaches stretch for miles, and when the sun comes up over the Pacific Ocean it brings with it a sense of relaxation and freedom. Shooting directly into the sun, the rays of light emerged from behind the stratocumulus clouds, and silhouetted the Pandanus palms, the few surfers and a lone stand-up paddle boarder out in the iridescent dawn sea. Sunrise inspires a feeling of deep gratitude.
Whiskey Bay On a perfect afternoon, standing waist deep in warm water. A gently rising tide was apparent whilst waiting for a break in the clouds on the horizon. These days are a rare gift when nature performs just the way you’d hoped. So like a smile from an old friend, one last glow from the sun revealing the contours and depth in these beautiful granite boulders.
Grace The dreamlike quality of Yosemite National Park was enhanced by sun breaking through clouds after a storm had washed clean the air. The sound of thunder from waterfalls filled the valley day and night. After heavy snows that winter, all 739 metres of the Yosemite falls, the tallest falls in America, were roaring down into the Merced river. As dusk approached the last rays of the day suddenly transformed the valley into land that time forgot.
The Tarkine Forest - Tasmania
Cathedral A forecast of heavy rains inspired me to travel to the Grampians National Park in Victoria because I knew the waterfalls would be flowing throughout. MacKenzie Falls drop into a pool in a sheltered rock gorge. Because of all the rain, a smaller, more ephemeral branch of the falls was falling with a hypnotic delicacy. The light in the water looked like lace and contrasted beautifully with the weight and dark sheen of the rocks. Rain was falling and on slippery rocks I held an umbrella over the camera with the tripod legs in the river to capture this image. MacKenzie Falls, Grampians National Park. Large format 617 film camera. f16/5secs.
Harmony Hiking through dense tropical rainforest in North Queensland, immersed in a rich experience with which few other things can compare. The surrounding energy, manifest in a vast spectrum of life forms has a reinvigorating effect. Low level sunlight filtering through the canopy onto delicate fern fronds. A stillness in the air creating a feeling of peace and centredness. Mossman Gorge. June 10.30am. Large format 617 film camera. f22/4 mins.
Silk Temple Entering this canyon feels like a dreamscape from another world. The swirling patterns and soft flowing shapes made it hard to believe that this place is made of solid rock. Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona. June, 2.00pm. Large format 617 film camera. f16/1 sec.
Wallace’s Hut This charming hut is the oldest of more than 100 huts that were once scattered throughout the Alpine National Park. It was built by Irish settlers, the Wallace brothers in 1889, who drove cattle from their Beechworth farm to the high country in the spring to rest their own pastures. The names of other cattlemen who used the hut are burnt into the beams of the roof. The hut has a spit-slab construction from Mountain Ash, with a rammed earth floor, and a small window that looks towards distant
Mt Kosciuszko. It is never locked and still acts as a day shelter for hikers. Alpine weather is fickle and tempestuous. Clouds were rolling in over the alps in the late afternoon but a break in the light helped the mighty snow gums, twisted by winds, present a perfect frame just as they shelter this tiny hut from the weather. An oasis in a rugged landscape. Wallace’s Hut, Bogong High Plains, Victoria. October, 5.30pm. Large format 617 panoramic film camera; f22/ 2 secs.
Sovereignty Standing and waiting with warm water gently rolling over my bare feet, this idyllic, soothing beach atmosphere was the perfect end to yet another exhilarating day of landscape photography. As the sky turned a deep red with hues of blue and purple hanging above the horizon, I stood there enjoying watching it fade. There was only one
other person on the beach that evening, and as the light disappeared, we turned to each other knowing that we had just seen something very special. Whisky Bay, Wilsons Promontory National Park. April 6pm. Large format 617 film camera. f22/6 sec.