About

Artist’s Statement

The reason I photograph is to engage on a more intimate level with the natural world. My intention is to create expressive landscape and nature photographs that evoke meaningful emotions, moods, or feelings. In making an image, I seek simplicity, a sense of mystery, and beauty.

Inspiration and Influences

The work and writing of Galen Rowell and David Muench originally inspired my interest in nature and landscape photography. In time I discovered Art Wolfe, William Neill, Frans Lanting, and Tom Mangelsen, among others, whose images and essays evoked a passion and love for the natural world that I found compelling and that reflected much of my own ethos. In recent years, I have discovered and been influenced by the work and thinking of Guy Tal, Eric Bennett, Sarah Marino, and Alex Noriega. I have also come to appreciate the special creative visions of Eliot Porter, Paul Wakefield, Hans Strand, Charles Cramer, and Joe Cornish, photographers who have indelibly influenced contemporary landscape photography.

Outside of photography, I am an avid reader and lifetime student of the world. Favorite writers who have brilliantly and convincingly argued and advocated for understanding and preserving nature and human cultures, particularly documenting the interdependence of each on the other, include Wade Davis, Barry Lopez, Richard Nelson, David Roberts, Craig Childs, and Robert Macfarlane. When hiking in the landscape and making images, I often hear the words of these writers or experience the same feelings their writing has evoked in me. My photography is often an attempt to create images illustrative of the ideas and emotions in their work.

 Contact me: info@robertbetka.com