Eliot Porter-
Eliot Porter was an American photographer working throughout the 50s to the 70s, known for his brightly coloured nature photography. His work was key to bringing about the change to viewing colour photography as a fine art medium and he often used his artwork to further conservation efforts and raise awareness on the subject, which he was very passionate about. He has published several critically-acclaimed photography books following his very extensive travels all over the world, including the Americas, East Africa, Antarctica and even the Galapagos Islands, the first being “In Wildness Is The Preservation Of The World”. He died on the 2nd November 1990, but his legacy lives on in his many vibrant photographs of culturally and ecologically important areas of the planet.
“When Porter captured the world around him, he often wanted to highlight elements the average person would overlook. He would look for specific plants, colours or textures that symbolised something far greater about the landscape he was shooting.”
-Urth Magazine
ARTIST EXAMPLES-
Birch Trees on Cliff, 1963 
Apples, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, 1942 
Bracken and Hawkweed, Michigan, 1973 
Foxtail Grass, Colorado, 1957 
Cliff, Moonlight Creek, San Juan River, 1962 
Foxtail Grass, Great Sand Dunes, Colorado, 1976 
Portfolio II: Iceland 
Hawkweed in meadow, Great Spruce Head 1968 
Portfolio entitled In Wildness, 1953–1981
His images all seem to feature a range of interesting textures which transports the viewer to the location and immerses them in the environment. This was especially effective to Porter’s conservation awareness efforts, and he even produced an entire book with the sole intention of raising public awareness on the importance of natural environments; “The Place No One Knew: Glen Canyon on the Colorado” presented the canyon’s stunning beauty before it was deliberately flooded in 1963, and was published shortly after the flood.
“Every photograph that is made whether by one who considers himself a professional, or by the tourist who points his snapshot camera and pushes a button, is a response to the exterior world,”
-Eliot Porter
MORE ARTIST EXAMPLES-
Edge of the Colorado River at Mile 122 
Shadbush, Near Hillsborough, New Hampshire, 1957 
Portfolio One: The Seasons (nine photographs), 1963 
Sunset behind Las Tres Virgenes Volcano, 1966 
River Edge at Sunset, Below Piute Rapids, 1962 
Yellow Aspens, Colorado 
Tarn and Cotton Grass, Fjordharheidhi, Iceland 
Tidal marsh, Mount Desert Island, Maine
One of his photography books in particular inspires me, “Intimate Landscapes” (1979), which consists of 10 prints handpicked from Porter’s show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the time. He was using colour photography at a time when most other artists ridiculed the medium as an artform. Their belief was that colour film simply could not convey the same emotional effect as black and white images., however Porter’s images have been critiqued by experts as emotive and, as the title suggests, quite intimate. Porter was inspired by the natural world around him and his efforts to help preserve it were fueled by this appreciation and adoration of all the fragile beauty he saw, all of which is expressed in his photography.
IMAGE ANALYSIS-
Porter’s precise use of more delicate colours and the fine details of the plants all aide his environmentalist cause and help to establish in the viewer a shared sense of love and appreciation of the beauty of a natural environment. Personally I love how the colours and framing are simple and natural enough that it could almost be an image that you see with your own eyes while going on a walk, representing how these beautiful environments are actually all around us.
I particularly like this image, as I feel it is an accurate portrayal of Porter’s overall style and photographic eye. It is clearly separated into three parts which is not uncommon as many of his images feature patterns and a strong structural component. It also features a variety of different textures, all natural and different from each other. The smooth nature of the water contrasts against the more rough and bristly plants on both sides, cutting a clear path through the centre. The colours as well are particularly interesting: they are mainly warm-toned with the green on the right of the image providing a sense of cool-toned balance. This provides further insight to the viewer on the season at the moment the image was taken, the sort of weather at the time, and also the general whereabouts of the area according to its’ particular flora and fauna.