Personal Background: Peter Lik was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1959 to hardworking Czech immigrant parents. At age 8, he was gifted a Brownie Kodak camera from his parents. This gift set him "on a course for destiny". In 1984, Lik came to the United States and discovered the panoramic camera format. While he was in the United States, he began "the biggest challenge of his life". This challenge was called "Spirit of America", and it was to reveal and capture landscapes from all of the 50 states. Since then he has received numerous amounts of awards from his achievements; some of these achievements include: two of his works being featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, receiving a number of awards from top photography institutions, and selling the most expensive photograph in history in 2014 (worth 6.5 million dollars), now holding four sports in the top 20 most expensive photos sold ever. Lik explains that he is still chasing the "perfect shot".
Style: Peter Lik's style of photography includes panoramic and landscape photos. On his website, he is described as a fine art and luxury photographer. His landscapes capture the naturalness and realness of the world. He travels the world to capture the stunning scenes in his photography. Many of these scenes use unique uses of light, capturing sunrises and sunsets, in some images almost creating a glowing effect to the object or the scene. Peter Lik travelled 50,000 miles using 1,000 rolls of film, capturing everything he could. His style is mostly landscape and nature, but it is not limited to this. Some of his photography is taken of cityscapes and buildings. Some structures are sometimes shown in his nature photos.
Philosophy: This artist's ideas behind his work were not complicated at all. He was a self driven worker and wanted to push himself to do better. For example in "Spirit of America", he challenged himself to work toward the goal of capturing all fifty states. He wanted to work hard to do good for himself and so others could enjoy his work. Lik's natural photography was trying to send an inspiring message to people and viewers. He just wants them to enjoy the beauty in the landscapes he has shown in his images. Lik was asked what his favorite photo is that he has taken, and he responds by saying "I haven't taken it yet". He strives to capture that "perfect shot" every day.
Influences: Peter Lik has influenced me and my work by showing me a different way of capturing images. His photography shows such wide and vast landscape. He is able to capture such raw beauty in on photograph. He is also creative in the light sources he uses. He takes shots at different times of the day to get different images exactly how he wants them.
Personal Artist Statement: The images above are both taken of colorful flowers. In "Blossom", the vibrance of the flower is showcased. Different hues of the bright pink are shown, as well as the contrast between the dark background in the corners and the color of the point of interest. The petals of the flower are filled with texture. Cropping was used to be able to see this texture even more in detail. The pattern of the spiral of the flower also creates shadows in between the layers of petals. The natural light coming in on the subject created highlights on parts of the flower, as well.
Compare and Contrast: These two photographs are very similar, but also differ in many ways. They are both photos of flowers and they are both close-up shots which allow the viewer to see all the detail in the flower. the images also both have emphasis on the vibrance of the color of the flower. "Eternal Flame is more focused on the center of the flower and the shape of it. The yellow of pets highlight the center as well. "Blossom" is more focused on the entire flower and giving details of all of the petals. In the photo "Blossom", part of the be=background is exposed and creates a contrast, while in "Eternal Flame", there is no background in the framing. The petals of the flower fill up the whole frame.
Passion
http://www.lik.com/thework/praries-fields/passion.html
http://www.lik.com/thework/praries-fields/passion.html
Personal Artist Statement: The images above are both taken of blades of grass. "Colorful Blades of Grass" captures the color and motion of each blade. The vibrancy of the green is shown, as well as some oranges, yellows, and browns. The contrast between the different colors is shown. The viewpoint also created a different point of view. If the shot were to be taken from higher up, it would have given a more distant viewpoint, and you wouldn't be able to see as much detail. The shot was taken close-up, looking into the grass. You are able to see the detail of the grass also because of some cropping that allowed you to see even closer. You can also see the motion of each blade of grass. The direction of each one varies.
Compare and Contrast: Both photographs shown above are taken of grass. They are very similar, but also very different. "Passion" is in a taller, more narrow frame, and "Colorful Blades of Grass" is in a more square frame. Both images capture the color of the blades. "Passion" is clearer in the foreground, and has less clarity in the background. "Colorful Blades of Grass" is pretty clear throughout the whole frame. Both images also show the different directions that different blades of grass are pointing towards.
Blue Skies
|
Personal Artist Statement: The images above are both taken of clouds in the sky. The photo, "Blue Skies" is capturing the clouds moving across the sky. The texture of the clouds is showcased. You are able too see in the clouds how some of them are more full and some are more spread out. The lighting of this photo at this time of day influenced how the color of the sky would look. In the top right corner of the image, the blue of the sky is darker than the rest, which creates contrast. Different hues are shown throughout the sky.
Compare and Contrast: These two photos are taken of clouds. In both the images, the sky is very blue. The textures in both of the clouds are also very visible. Although they are taken in the same style, the images differ in many ways. The shapes of the clouds are very different. The clouds in "Clouds" are more compact and they are a very solid color of white that provide a strong contrast against the dark blue of the sky. In "Blue Skies", the clouds are more spread out because they are moving more, and this creates a feathery-like texture to the clouds. There is also lesser contrast in this photo because the color of the sky is a brighter, lighter blue.