Posted by Todd Caudle on April 8, 2009 at 10:32 PM
I've been a big fan of Carr Clifton's photography for more years than I can count. I kind of graduated from Muench to Clifton (not in the sense that I outgrew my appreciation for Muench, but more in looking for a more contemporary landscape artist), and used to Google search him on occasion to see if he finally put up a Web site. I hadn't checked for the last few years, and upon seeing someone in Stan's weekly challenge gallery mention Clifton as an inspiration, I took that as motivation to search anew. Well, well, well! If you want to see some of the strongest landscape photography ever (IMHO), check out http://www.carrclifton.com/. If you want to see an epic study in design, check out the "Boats and Harbors" gallery. Spend some time at his site. It is impressive.
Posted by Erik Aagaard on April 8, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Thanks for passing that along. Wow - what an awesome body of work. Besides the Boats and Harbors Todd mentioned, I like the Seasons gallery...and the South America gallery... and the Desert Light gallery... and the....
What impresses me even more than the composition is the use of color. It's tough to really effectively incorporate color (and tension between colors) in an image without becoming cheesy, but he sure does it.
Interesting that two of his cover shots appear to be the same image - just reversed. And how many photographers can include a bona fide US Postage stamp on their resume? Very, very cool!
Thanks Todd for drawing our attention to Carr's work. His eye for composition is excelled only by his fantastic use of light.
A bit humbling and shows me I have a long way to go.
Posted by Lance Warley on April 9, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Thanks, Todd.
It's gonna be real hard to get any work done for the rest of the day.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on April 9, 2009 at 11:02 AM
That is some really good work Todd. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 9, 2009 at 11:07 AM
The "Glaciers and Ice" gallery is another one that takes things to another level.
Posted by Phillip Noll on April 9, 2009 at 11:55 AM
A great body of work! Excellent uses of line, form, and composition. Much of it is reminiscent of Eliot Porter.
Was a tad disappointed to see a couple near-cartoonish HDR type images in the boat gallery (# 2 and 6). Perhaps he was intentionally going for that look but they seem out of place with the rest of his work.
Its nice, but my overall impression hasnt changed since i first saw his stuff, some outstanding individual pieces, but the whole doesnt blow me away. I think your work is better, especially if you traveled to Patagonia more often Just a personal stylisitc preference perhaps, although i wonder how much of people reaction is preconditioned by the name and the expectation that is associated with it.
Posted by Erik Aagaard on April 10, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Stan, I gotta respectfully disagree with you! And I'm embarrassed to admit that I had never heard the name before - so I couldn't have been influenced by it.
As you say, it's likely personal stylistic preference. After spending a lot of time on the web site (and cursing the thumbnails that keep trying to hide! ), I come to the opposite conclusion - overall outstanding work, with intermittent examples of merely average stuff. Again, this is so subjective.
Of course, I enjoy looking at almost all photography, and I always feel like I've expanded my own horizons after being exposed to someone with a unique vision - whether I like the work or not. There's almost always something you can take away and consider applying to your own vision.
And you're right -- multiple trips to Pantagonia (and Alaska....and New England....and...) can't hurt, either!
Posted by Phillip Noll on April 10, 2009 at 10:51 AM
I have to agree with Stan. Like I said above, overall its a nice solid body of work but it doesn't "blow me away" either. I certainly enjoyed perusing his galleries. Most of his photos are very good but not "knock your socks off" good. Its all personal preference. (After all, there's no accounting for taste! )
However, I see photos on NPN nearly daily that leave my mouth agape and several photographers here have the ability to do this consistently. I truly feel that many of the best contemporary landscape photographers are right here on NPN. And luckily for the rest of us they are helpful, constructive, and share their knowledge and techniques. Now where the heck did my socks get to??
I really enjoyed looking at his site. I think he has some simply outstanding work, though it is clear that much of it was taken with older film and the limitations that came with it. I'm truly inspired and am glad to have learned about him. It was also interesting to see that there were some images that seemed to have a Caudle look about them. Thanks for posting this Todd!
Discussion
22 repliesWhat impresses me even more than the composition is the use of color. It's tough to really effectively incorporate color (and tension between colors) in an image without becoming cheesy, but he sure does it.
Interesting that two of his cover shots appear to be the same image - just reversed. And how many photographers can include a bona fide US Postage stamp on their resume? Very, very cool!
Ken
A bit humbling and shows me I have a long way to go.
It's gonna be real hard to get any work done for the rest of the day.
Was a tad disappointed to see a couple near-cartoonish HDR type images in the boat gallery (# 2 and 6). Perhaps he was intentionally going for that look but they seem out of place with the rest of his work.
RichieV
As you say, it's likely personal stylistic preference. After spending a lot of time on the web site (and cursing the thumbnails that keep trying to hide!
Of course, I enjoy looking at almost all photography, and I always feel like I've expanded my own horizons after being exposed to someone with a unique vision - whether I like the work or not. There's almost always something you can take away and consider applying to your own vision.
And you're right -- multiple trips to Pantagonia (and Alaska....and New England....and...) can't hurt, either!
However, I see photos on NPN nearly daily that leave my mouth agape and several photographers here have the ability to do this consistently. I truly feel that many of the best contemporary landscape photographers are right here on NPN. And luckily for the rest of us they are helpful, constructive, and share their knowledge and techniques. Now where the heck did my socks get to??