Peter Lik Photography Analysis

Peter Lik is a pioneer in landscape photography and is extremely well known. He has spent over 30 years pushing the boundaries of fine art. He has been shooting scenes of Mother Nature his entire life. Born in Melbourne, Australia to hardworking Czech immigrants, he has always appreciated life's beauty and never taken it for granted. Peter's work can be traced back to the essential moment when at 8 years old he received the gift of a Brownie Kodak camera from his parents. This event set him on a course for destiny. Since his first snapshot of a spider web in his family garden, he has wanted to share with people some of the most beautiful places in the world. One of the biggest growing points in his career was when he took on a massive project

known as “The Spirit of America” which led him to travel over fifty thousand miles and use over a thousand rolls of film and when he was done he revealed images from the most beautiful parts of all fifty states in America. From this adventure, a TV series was produced called “From the Edge by Peter Lik”.
Many people disagree with Peter Lik about how much money his pictures cost and with good reason, but it doesn't take away from the images and nature’s real beauty.

Another problem that people have with his works is that they feel he just takes pictures; it’s not hard and anyone can do it. However, when Peter Lik takes pictures, he doesn’t just take a picture. He puts much effort into his images by the way he sets up his camera, waits for the perfect image and goes places where the average person wouldn’t go. I feel that the people who talk about him don't really understand the effort that goes into making each and every

picture.
Peter uses a Nikon D800 with a 50mm lens to take his images. Also, when he prints his images, he uses silver halide crystals that when exposed to light turn into small specks of metallic silver which literally set the scene for the chemical processes that leads to the formation of a very colorful image. As well, he uses contact photo light paper which, when exposed to light, captures a latent image that is then developed to form a visible image. He also goes above and beyond in his stores so that his art is presented in an elegant gallery style, with the setup and lighting of the store created to compliment the art. Some galleries have earthy elements like rock and wood while others exhibit white walls and cement floors, but in all of the stores, you will come away with a beautiful art viewing experience that Peter Lik really cares about.
The reason that I admire Peter Lik’s photography is because the images he takes are well planned out and given much forethought from him. Each one is taken in the most photo-worthy spot at the best time and I appreciate his attention to detail. Since the images are taken with so much precision and with such vivid colors, it almost feels like you are there, standing at the place where he captured the photo. When I look at one of his photos I just can't look away. They are visually stunning. I enjoy his color images more than the black and white ones because the color pops and stands out to me especially the greens and reds. This is an amazing ability that Lik achieves in order to reach his audience. Another reason why I can relate to him as a person is because anytime I go on a vacation I am the designated camera person and I love taking pictures of nature just like Peter. He inspires me to take great pictures because when I look at his photos they make me smile and I want my photos to be appreciated and admired in that same manner.
“Allure” is an image of a river gorge in Columbia that has water pouring in. The walls of the gorge are green and protrude inward toward the river that’s weathering the rock away. Although atmospheric perspective exists in the background of this picture, you are still able to see very far back through the gorge until it gets hazy and less detailed the further you get away from the foreground. This helps show depth along with the shadows, size, and scaling of the rocks and trees. The rock on the rear left wall of the gorge is prominent because a waterfall is pouring out right in front of it which creates a contrast between the white of the water and the green of the moss covered rock walls. The colors appear brighter due to this contrast. The moss also gives the perception of having a texture that is moist and furry. In my opinion, one of the most eye-catching parts inside the image are the beams of light shining diagonally into the foreground of the image. In the middle of the background, you can see into the forest of trees above, which seem to cross each other, where the light shines in so you can see into the shallow water to the round rock below. With this picture, I think the rock walls of the gorge create implied lines that lead to the vanishing point of the waterfall at the back where it starts getting foggy which create a focal point in the photograph.
The “Tree of the Universe” is a stellar image depicting the silhouette of a leafless tree against a dazzling celestial backdrop. “Tree of the Universe” was taken on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tree is in the foreground of the photograph and the stars and colors of space, that look like a universe, are in the far background. Behind the tree, the bright red and orange of the stars and the universe illuminate the picture. Therefore, it creates a sense of balance to where your eyes are drawn to right off the center of the image. This work of art is slightly off balance to where the eye is drawn to the dominance on the left side rather than the right side of the picture. The far right side contains darkness; the darkness of space allows the red, orange, and purple colors to jump out at you. I feel this image is a good example of how Peter shoots his pictures. In most of his photographs, there are multiple objects throughout the picture that attract the viewer’s eye. However, in this picture, there is only one main object, the abstract silhouette of the tree, that focuses your attention. The background of stars and space create a contrast of light and dark, but it’s the branches that are spread across the image that help take your eyes in circles around the photo as you follow them. The mountains or hills in the background are shown as negative space being outlined by the starlit sky.

So many people loved this photograph that it almost completely sold out in 33 hours.

I think the reason so many people wanted to own this image is due to the fact that it is a mix of nature and the beauty that we would all like to remember each and every day. Living the fast-paced lives of work and family, humans do not get to experience this beauty of nature often enough. Peter Lik uses contextual art in most of his photographs in order to capture the natural Earth that most people are not lucky enough to see in person.
If I had to pick the meaning behind his art and the reason he takes these pictures, I would say the meaning is contextual because his art is about what's inside. Inside the picture I mean, it's what the picture is in all of its beauty and glory. Contextual art operates with signs whose meaning is described by the actual pragmatic context.
I believe that the reason that Peter Lik takes his pictures is so that he can show others how beautiful nature is and to maybe inspire those people to go visit these places and maybe even to take pictures themselves. Peter is a great photographer that has brought a lot to the art world and to the art loving community. His pictures are not only of Mother Nature like in “Allure” but also of man-made architecture as seen in his snapshots of the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York City

skyline.