The Art of Landscape Photography: A Conversation with David Brodie

As we sit down to talk about landscape photography, it's hard not to draw comparisons to two of the most iconic figures in the genre: Ansel Adams and Michael Kenna. Both photographers have made significant contributions to the art form, but their styles and approaches couldn't be more different.

Ansel Adams is often considered the gold standard of landscape photography. His black-and-white images are breathtakingly beautiful, with deep shadows and vivid contrasts that seem to capture the very essence of the natural world. Adams' work has been widely influential, and his use of zones within the grayscale has become a fundamental technique in landscape photography. However, it's also true that Adams' style can be difficult to emulate, particularly for those who are looking to create something new and original.

Michael Kenna, on the other hand, is known for his high-contrast images taken at night, often in Japan. His work has a distinctly different feel from Adams', but it's no less impressive. Kenna's use of light and shadow creates a sense of drama and tension that draws the viewer into the image. While his style may not be as widely emulated as Adams', it's undeniable that he has made significant contributions to the genre.

David Brodie, our subject for this interview, is a photographer who has carved out his own unique niche in the landscape photography world. With influences ranging from Irving Penn to platinum palladium printing, Brodie's work is characterized by its flexibility and versatility. He works in silver gelatin, platinum palladium, and brm oil, among other mediums, and uses each one to create a distinct look.

One of the things that sets Brodie apart from his contemporaries is his willingness to experiment with different processes and techniques. He has worked closely with a studio called Hidden Light, which specializes in printing and producing photographs using traditional methods. The results are stunning, with intricate textures and tonal ranges that add depth and complexity to Brodie's images.

Brodie's recent work, which was filmed during our interview, is particularly noteworthy. His still-life and botanical studies are incredibly detailed, with a level of precision and care that is reminiscent of the Old Masters. He uses non-traditional formats and mediums to create unique and captivating images that defy categorization.

What I admire most about Brodie's approach is his willingness to push boundaries and challenge himself creatively. Whether he's working in platinum palladium or brm oil, he is constantly seeking new ways to express himself through photography. It's this passion for innovation and experimentation that makes him such an exciting photographer to watch.

As we wrap up our conversation with David Brodie, I want to emphasize the importance of sharing his work with others. These videos are made possible by your support, which has enabled us to bring high-quality content to you on a regular basis. We're proud to be part of this community, and we hope that you will continue to engage with our content in the days ahead.

Before I go, I want to encourage you all to subscribe to The Art of Photography channel and hit the notification bell. These videos are intended for artists, photographers, and anyone who is passionate about creative expression. We're not just talking about technique – we're exploring the human side of art-making, and that's what makes these conversations so compelling.

As I look around me at this beautiful landscape, I'm reminded of the importance of community and sharing our work with others. These videos are a labor of love, and they wouldn't be possible without your support. So please, share them with friends, family, and fellow artists. Share them on social media, and spread the word about The Art of Photography channel.

And finally, I want to thank David Brodie for being such an inspiring photographer and collaborator. His work is a testament to the power of creativity and innovation, and I feel honored to have had the chance to share it with you all.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat is up everybody welcome back today I want to talk a little bit about the artist series video that will be dropping tomorrow morning and this is going to be a video on David brookover who I think is a phenomenal landscape photographer and I want to put some context around his work uh so you'll kind of know what you're getting into here because David is very different than what we think of as a Traditional landscape photographer and I think that's part of what makes him so brilliant and for me he was a complete obvious choice to have included with the artist series and landscape photography I think is tough and one of the reasons I think it is hard is because it has been part of the Canon of Photography throughout the entire history with the invention of Photography those early emulsions were so slow in terms of light sensitivity that it was really difficult to shoot with so the obvious choice was to do stuff where you could shoot in daylight so Landscapes of either an urban context or some kind of rural context and that's been a huge part of Photography not only in the art side of Photography but documentation um what people were able to record doing that with not only cities but also Landscapes and countrysides and have we've observed that change over the years since we have had access to photography and so this culminated I think with anel Adams when he came along and anel it's it's interesting to look at him with the you know with the eyes of being a modern photographer now to look back at anel but when he came out he was very Progressive it was this entire divorce from pictorialism and all the other types of Photography into the straight photography and with group f64 and all that and not only from an artistic standpoint but also from a technical standpoint uh he and Fred Archer did an enormous amount of work with the zone system which was a way of capturing with black and white film a very printable negative that was able to deal with very high contrast or low contrast you could manipulate that with temperature with development time and then by using what he referred to as zones within that grayscale and knowing how to use those and it's those are techniques that are still used by film photographers today and that was amazing I think as a result result though anel Adams set this bar that everybody gets compared to when you do black and white landscape photography it it draws this comparison to anel Adams and I think that's one thing that makes it difficult there have been people who have come along who have really had their own voice and put their own stamp on it one of the most obvious to me would be somebody like Michael Kenna um particularly with some of the the choices of landscape that he's done a lot of his work in Japan uh for instance and Michael Kenna has a very different approach it's high contrast he shoots at night um it's very different than anel Adams was but I think as a result of the popularity of Kenna that that makes it even more difficult because those are the two polls there that that on the Continuum of comparison is that you're going to do work that's going to get compared to one or the other now David Brook over I don't believe that his work has a comparison to either I think he has his own voice on it and there's a number of reasons why one of the reasons that I like David so much is that through his influences he had a lot of non- landscape influences and I'm going to let him talk about that in the video tomorrow but particularly with photography photographers like Irving Penn uh and platinum Palladium Printing and bringing that into a context now Platinum Palladium is an older alternative process technique that David is doing modern work on and I think it's brilliant I think his his willingness to be flexible and versatile with the mediums that he chooses to print on is another big deal as well now David does not do his own printing but he does work very closely with a studio out of Flagstaff Arizona called hidden light and what was really cool is when I went out to Jackson Hole to do this interview he flew the guys from hidden light up as well actually they flew themselves one of them is a pilot they were awesome and total characters and I really had a good time hanging out with them they it was like everybody was old friends it was it was a lot of fun but anyway I have some of them in the video as well so they're able to talk about some of the processes because David Works in silver gelatin he works in Platinum padium he works in brm oil there's a wide variety and then why you would choose a specific process to get a specific look and then some of the more recent work that David's doing um really starting about the time that we filmed this and and some of the work is in there we recently put it in uh I think it's some of the most Progressive still life uh Botanical and and study types of work that I've ever seen and he uses some non-traditional medium of platinum padium and then using things that are outside rectangular or Square format anyway I'm going to let you guys see that tomorrow but David uh he's he's a hero of mine I'm very happy and proud to call him a friend and I think you guys are really going to like this video so anyway this will be dropped tomorrow morning um one thing that I want to stress on this first of all subscribe and hit the little alarm Bell if you haven't already so you'll know when these videos come out that's one thing the second thing is I'm not in the artist series videos I am behind the camera and I let the artist be the at Center Stage so I am not there to remind you guys to share these things and sharing these videos is extremely important because we need to get the word out you guys know about them I had a wonderful reception to graciel EB's video but I'm not in the video to remind you to share so um send those to your friends send them to people that you think need to see them um they are an intense labor of love they were crowdfunded by you guys so they belong to you and so really getting the word out to get eyeballs on these and share them I think is the most important thing I can possibly say and you're going to get so tired of hearing me say that over the next four weeks here as we release the rest of season 2 but anyway I'm super excited about this um David's a great guy and I think you are really in for a treat you're really going to love his work um he's phenomenal so so anyway that will be tomorrow so if you've enjoyed this video please remember to like it share it subscribe to the Art of Photography I will see you guys in the next video Until then laterwhat is up everybody welcome back today I want to talk a little bit about the artist series video that will be dropping tomorrow morning and this is going to be a video on David brookover who I think is a phenomenal landscape photographer and I want to put some context around his work uh so you'll kind of know what you're getting into here because David is very different than what we think of as a Traditional landscape photographer and I think that's part of what makes him so brilliant and for me he was a complete obvious choice to have included with the artist series and landscape photography I think is tough and one of the reasons I think it is hard is because it has been part of the Canon of Photography throughout the entire history with the invention of Photography those early emulsions were so slow in terms of light sensitivity that it was really difficult to shoot with so the obvious choice was to do stuff where you could shoot in daylight so Landscapes of either an urban context or some kind of rural context and that's been a huge part of Photography not only in the art side of Photography but documentation um what people were able to record doing that with not only cities but also Landscapes and countrysides and have we've observed that change over the years since we have had access to photography and so this culminated I think with anel Adams when he came along and anel it's it's interesting to look at him with the you know with the eyes of being a modern photographer now to look back at anel but when he came out he was very Progressive it was this entire divorce from pictorialism and all the other types of Photography into the straight photography and with group f64 and all that and not only from an artistic standpoint but also from a technical standpoint uh he and Fred Archer did an enormous amount of work with the zone system which was a way of capturing with black and white film a very printable negative that was able to deal with very high contrast or low contrast you could manipulate that with temperature with development time and then by using what he referred to as zones within that grayscale and knowing how to use those and it's those are techniques that are still used by film photographers today and that was amazing I think as a result result though anel Adams set this bar that everybody gets compared to when you do black and white landscape photography it it draws this comparison to anel Adams and I think that's one thing that makes it difficult there have been people who have come along who have really had their own voice and put their own stamp on it one of the most obvious to me would be somebody like Michael Kenna um particularly with some of the the choices of landscape that he's done a lot of his work in Japan uh for instance and Michael Kenna has a very different approach it's high contrast he shoots at night um it's very different than anel Adams was but I think as a result of the popularity of Kenna that that makes it even more difficult because those are the two polls there that that on the Continuum of comparison is that you're going to do work that's going to get compared to one or the other now David Brook over I don't believe that his work has a comparison to either I think he has his own voice on it and there's a number of reasons why one of the reasons that I like David so much is that through his influences he had a lot of non- landscape influences and I'm going to let him talk about that in the video tomorrow but particularly with photography photographers like Irving Penn uh and platinum Palladium Printing and bringing that into a context now Platinum Palladium is an older alternative process technique that David is doing modern work on and I think it's brilliant I think his his willingness to be flexible and versatile with the mediums that he chooses to print on is another big deal as well now David does not do his own printing but he does work very closely with a studio out of Flagstaff Arizona called hidden light and what was really cool is when I went out to Jackson Hole to do this interview he flew the guys from hidden light up as well actually they flew themselves one of them is a pilot they were awesome and total characters and I really had a good time hanging out with them they it was like everybody was old friends it was it was a lot of fun but anyway I have some of them in the video as well so they're able to talk about some of the processes because David Works in silver gelatin he works in Platinum padium he works in brm oil there's a wide variety and then why you would choose a specific process to get a specific look and then some of the more recent work that David's doing um really starting about the time that we filmed this and and some of the work is in there we recently put it in uh I think it's some of the most Progressive still life uh Botanical and and study types of work that I've ever seen and he uses some non-traditional medium of platinum padium and then using things that are outside rectangular or Square format anyway I'm going to let you guys see that tomorrow but David uh he's he's a hero of mine I'm very happy and proud to call him a friend and I think you guys are really going to like this video so anyway this will be dropped tomorrow morning um one thing that I want to stress on this first of all subscribe and hit the little alarm Bell if you haven't already so you'll know when these videos come out that's one thing the second thing is I'm not in the artist series videos I am behind the camera and I let the artist be the at Center Stage so I am not there to remind you guys to share these things and sharing these videos is extremely important because we need to get the word out you guys know about them I had a wonderful reception to graciel EB's video but I'm not in the video to remind you to share so um send those to your friends send them to people that you think need to see them um they are an intense labor of love they were crowdfunded by you guys so they belong to you and so really getting the word out to get eyeballs on these and share them I think is the most important thing I can possibly say and you're going to get so tired of hearing me say that over the next four weeks here as we release the rest of season 2 but anyway I'm super excited about this um David's a great guy and I think you are really in for a treat you're really going to love his work um he's phenomenal so so anyway that will be tomorrow so if you've enjoyed this video please remember to like it share it subscribe to the Art of Photography I will see you guys in the next video Until then later\n"