Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012!!

There are so many fascinating aspects to nature and to fine art nature photography. One of the most rewarding is discovery of images in unexpected places. Recently, while creating photographs of a magnificent waterfall in California, I took a break and looked at the trees behind me. In a small area of peeling bark I found an abstract as exciting as the waterfall itself. Nature reveals her beauty in many ways. It is these serendipitous moments that keep me out there shooting year after year.

I first became involved with the Tennessee Coneflower nearly 21 years ago. At that time I created photographs of the flower everyday for 2  months and ended up with an image being chosen for the phone book cover for the entire state of Tennessee.

See a video about my early involvement with the TN Coneflower HERE. It is exciting to see that the tireless efforts of the Nature Conservancy and so many state and local agencies have finally paid off!

I have finally had time to begin going through some of the images from my recent photographic journey to California along the Big Sur area and Antelope Valley. It was a very successful shoot and there are thousands of images yet to go through. I will be adding them to the website in the coming weeks. In the meantime here are just a few:

Image # 20110408-561 Sage brush and California goldfield flowers

Image #20110407-106 Tree on rocky cliff with aqua blue ocean

Image #20110406-385 Beach covered with stones and pebbles

Image #20101030-68 Reflections of fall in the river

It is now common knowledge that nature images in healthcare facilities are an essential element to the well being of patients and contribute positively to the mental state of visitors. Once you accept these facts, the next logical step in the thought process is the realization that nature images can contribute to the mental and physical well being of the population in general. If a beautiful image of nature helps a patient in the hospital by lowering stress levels, blood pressure and speeding the healing process, doesn’t it stand to reason that such images can have positive benefits on our lives in environments other than just hospitals and clinics? What about retirement communities, corporate offices, government offices, schools and of course our homes? These are all places where the therapeutic effect of fine art nature photographs would be welcomed.  It is exciting to think that fine art nature photographs may have such a positive affect on our emotional and physical well being that they may in fact help to make our trips to the doctor less frequent and our daily lives less stressful.

Image #6622 Morning sunlight streaming through trees

I am pleased to announce the opening of my latest show entitled Missing Nature on March 26th! Below is a copy of the press release for the show:

Parthenon and Nature Conservancy Team for Nature Photography Exhibit

Byron Jorjorian’s Photographs to Feature Areas Protected by Conservancy

Nashville, TN — The Parthenon will host an exhibit of large-scale color nature photography by nationally prominent nature photographer Byron Jorjorian in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, March 26 – August 20. Titled Missing Nature, the exhibit in the Parthenon’s East Gallery will feature locations in Tennessee that have been protected by The Nature Conservancy.

The exhibit’s title is meant to be a play on words that describes both Jorjorian’s work in general and this particular collection of photographs, all taken in Tennessee. On one hand, Jorjorian frequently sees the minute details of nature that many of us miss in passing by. On the other hand, he is documenting the creatures and special places that all of us would miss if The Nature Conservancy had not protected them.

As Parthenon curator Susan Shockley puts it: “Jorjorian hikes to these habitats where he photographs both the wildlife and the land.  But Jorjorian creates much more than a simple record of a rural hike. His eye notices the yellow leaf just fallen from the tree, the spider’s web drenched in dew, or the swirl that water creates around a rock. He isolates, selects, and captures a vision of the world. His photographs generate a new habitat for his subjects, and he enables his viewers to see moments we might otherwise miss.”

Now recognized as one of America’s premier nature photographers, Jorjorian has been a longtime supporter and friend of The Nature Conservancy, a leading conservation organization which has protected nearly 120 million acres around the world for people and nature. Since 1990, Jorjorian has been donating his time and photography to The Nature Conservancy’s cause, particularly in Tennessee where he resides. Many of his most arresting photographs, whether close-ups of delicate coneflowers or panoramic vistas of foggy mountaintops, were taken on lands acquired and protected by The Nature Conservancy.

“In my photographs, I am always trying to reveal details in nature that others might overlook,” says Jorjorian. “When people look at my work, what I hope they see first is a work of art (usually abstract) and then the actual subject matter of that art — the place or living thing I’ve photographed. Ideally, the viewer experiences a mental shift back and forth between the colorful patterns and textures of my art to the ‘a-ha’ revelation of the subject that I’ve captured.

“The images I create grow from what I like to call ‘emotional discovery,’” Jorjorian adds. “This is the discovery of previously unseen patterns and arrangements of colors and shapes in nature that create a strong emotional state within us when we notice them. Each image is made unique by the integration of lighting and conditions that come together at the moment of the photograph’s conception. It is here in the space created by natural conditions and emotional discovery that my images take shape. My time spent in nature instills a great sense of childlike wonder, harmony and oneness in me, and though my photographs I hope to share that special feeling.”

The Parthenon, surrounded by the beautiful gardens and landscape of Centennial Park, is an ideal setting for this exhibit. Nashville’s parks bring nature into urban environments, giving the city’s residents increased access to nature and recreational activities out-of-doors.

Missing Nature will be on display at The Parthenon in Nashville from March 26 to August 20, 2011. The Parthenon is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults; $4 for seniors 62 and over, and $4 for children 4-17. Children under 4 are admitted free.

Skywriting Journal by Byron Jorjorian

I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book The Skywriting Journal !!

I am making available autographed copies of the book by clicking HERE

This journal is filled with images of skies from my photographic travels. The book is designed for writing your thoughts and ideas right onto the clouds and skies!! It is a great gift idea you or for someone you know who likes to think on paper.

I recently returned from a few days in Nevada at a trade show. While I was there I spent some time in the desert creating images. One morning at sunrise I ran into this group of bighorn sheep. It seem that they were more interested in the large ram on the mountain than in me. I was able to get really close to them to make some photographs with very little reaction from them at all. It was a great way to start my day shooting. Stay tuned. I will also be sharing some of the desert abstract and landscape fine art photographs I made on this trip over the next few days….

Nature art heals. We all know this intuitively but now scientific evidence is accumulating to support these claims.

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks knew it and designed temples that surrounded patients with nature, music, and art to restore harmony and promote healing. A number of studies have presented strong evidence that even a few minutes of contact with nature can significantly decrease stress, reduce anger and fear, and increase pleasant feelings. This calming effect can be achieved by providing views to the outside, interior gardens or aquariums, or artwork with a nature theme..

As a fine art nature photographer I find this particularly interesting and rewarding. When I have been in the field for several days I come back exhausted but renewed from my experience in the outdoors. The fact that viewing my art can impart this feeling of renewal and healing to others is satisfying.

Sources:
Parsons R, Hartig T. Environmental Psycholphysiology. In Handbook of Psychophysiology, 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press;2000:815-46.
Van den Berg A, Koole SL, Van der Wulp NY. Environmental preference and restoration: how are they related? J Environ Psychol. 2003;23(2):135-46.

“The world is your kaleidoscope, and the varying combinations of colors, which at every succeeding moment it presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever-moving thoughts.”

James Allen

Even though this gem of a quote by James Allen from the book, As A Man Thinketh was intended as a more general statement about our thoughts, I felt that it was very appropriate expression for what I do in the field. Creating fine art nature photographs is about expressing inner attitudes of mind through a two dimensional image of the natural world.