Monday, January 3, 2011

Guy Tal’s “Creative Landscape Photography”

Book ReviewGuy Tal’s “Creative Landscape Photography”


“The goal is not to make you creative. Whether you know it or not, you already are. The challenge, rather, is learning to tap into and focus your creativity and to help it find its ultimate expression in a photographic image.” – Guy Tal

Originally designed as a companion to Guy Tal's Creative Landscape Photography workshop, this is the first in a series of instructional texts aimed at intermediate and advanced photographers seeking to evolve their skills beyond the basics. Based on years of real-world experience practicing and teaching the art and craft of landscape photography, this eBook details Guy's process-based approach to unlocking the creative potential already in you. Learn how to take your ideas and sensibilities from raw concepts to expressive images, with an emphasis on understanding visualization, composition and capture techniques.


Pages: 86 Price: $9.95

I am a photographer, writer, and naturalist living and working in the Colorado Plateau - a scenic and diverse desert region of the western United States spanning an area larger than most countries and states. Over the years, this magical and endangered landscape had not only been my home but also my sanctuary and my main source of inspiration. It is my goal as a person, as a writer, and as an artist, to promote and to share its wild beauty, and advocate for its preservation. It is a place like no other - a treasure for the soul that future generations deserve to experience in its wild state as we have been privileged to.


I am often asked about the visual qualities of my work and how they relate to the elusive concept of "reality". I strongly believe that photography is the most restrictive of the visual arts but at the same time also has the potential to make the most impact with the viewer for one simple reason: photographs have a binding connection with real events, real elements, real light, and real moments in time. Any obvious departure from these realities will cause an image to be dismissed outright regardless of any other aesthetic qualities it may possess. The photographic artist's tools are primarily well-crafted composition and careful adjustments of the captured image within very narrow margins.

My goal is to produce images that inspire without venturing outside the realm of the believable. The ability to imbue a photographic image with one's personal thoughts and emotions is indeed what puts the "art" in Fine Art Photography. To be clear, my images may well represent a personal interpretation that may differ from, extend, or even alter what others may regard as a strict documentary rendition of a scene. They are to be regarded as works of creative art, though they are always based on real elements and express a real reverence for the subjects portrayed.

Guy Tal
Torrey, UT


Selections of my work can also be seen at these sites:

http://www.uintaphoto.com/ - Images of the Uinta Mountains

http://www.wasatchmountainphoto.com/ - Images of the Wasatch Mountains

http://www.sanrafaelswellphoto.com/ - Images of the San Rafael Swell

http://www.autumncolorphoto.com/ - Autumn Color Images

 http://www.canyoncountryphoto.com/ - Images from the Colorado Plateau Canyon Country

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