A tribute to Eliot Porter, the Nature photographer I most admire in Daydreaming on the Porch

I mark the summer’s swift decline;

The springing sward its grave-clothes weaves.

Oh, could I catch the sounds remote?

Could I but tell to human ear

The strains which on the breezes float

And sing the requiem of the dying year!

From the Journal of
Henry David Thoreau

Of all the books I have treasured over the years one stands out with singular distinction and fond memories. It is entitled, “In Wildness is the Preservation of the World,” and it contains a wonderful selection of quotations from Thoreau’s journals, intermixed with the glorious and exquisitely detailed nature photography of that master of the art, Eliot Porter.

I first bought this book when I was in the 11th grade, the same year I was becoming deeply interested in the writings of Thoreau. It seemed to me then, and even more so today, 56 years later, that the photographs perfectly compliment the words. This book is a classic in every sense, as were the other titles in that farsighted Sierra Club/Ballantine series, including, “Gentle Wilderness: The Sierra Nevada,” all produced during the 1960s.

It was Porter who gave me as a youth my first real glimpses of color photograhy as a fine art medium. Porter was able to combine colors in Nature in exciting and totally new ways. And, just as significantly, he was able to focus close-up on the forest floor, for example, and create a composition that told an intricate story of life and death in the natural world. New life amidst the old — this was a recurring theme in his photographs. I have had that in the back of my mind on many a photo outing at the parks and gardens near me that I frequently visit with my camera.

Also, in his larger landscapes there was always the emphasis on details. They came through clearly. Certain aspects of the scenes strike the viewer as special, revealing, and in myriad ways, extraordinay, although the effect those pictures had was hard to describe in words. That is so often the way it is with great art, and the color photography of Eliot Porter belongs in the highest realms of art. (Seee examples of this in the links included with this essay).

He was a man who was in his own way as deeply connected to Nature as Thoreau was. His photography has inspired me for years, just as I have come back time and again to the writings of Thoreau. This book gives me the best of both men’s work and creative genius.

As you can see, my admiration and respect for Porter has endured for decades. He truly was one of the greatest American photographers. That is something I sensed immediately as a teenager when I was just becoming sensitive to the wonders of Nature through photography. I still don’t know how I acquired that 1960s edition of “In Wildness…”, but just a couple of weeks ago I ordered the latest edition from 2020 with newer color processing and printing. It is as eye-opening as ever.

Professional photographers and photography exhibition critics have long lauded Porter’s photography. They comment often about his intimate portrayals of Nature and the way he focused on the subtle details and patterns in the natural world, capturing the texture, color, and light of his subjects with extraordinary precision.

I have always been astonished and influenced by the sheer elegance, balance, and near-perfection of his compositions. He had an eye for the way lines, shapes, and colors interacted, creating harmonious compositions that drew the viewer’s eye through the scene.

Some Web links for Porter’s photography follow.

Twelve Great Photos by Eliot Porter

https://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/14882/12-great-photographs-by-eliot-porter/

Eliot Porter — Google Images
https://tinyurl.com/3kyh5x3k

After Image Gallery
http://www.afterimagegallery.com/

As an illustration from my own photography, here are some recent pictures that show my indebtedness to Porter.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/camas/164S802Z9M

The definitive published work is titled “Eliot Porter” (words and text by Eliot Porter, published by the New York Graphics Society, and Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1987.

Also, these books are highly recommended:
The West: Eliot Porter, MJF Books, New York, 1988 (orginally published by Little, Brown and Co.
Eliot Porter: Appalachian Wilderness — The Great Smoky Mountains,

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Porter

Last updated April 03, 2024