I chose to emulate Eliot Porter’s photos because the composition is very easy to recreate in Maine, largely because that is where he shot a lot of his photos. My approach to connecting my own work to his will be the subject matter, color scheme, and lighting aspects of the photos I choose to emulate.
Eliot Porter, born in 1901, was an American photographer born in Winnetka Illinois, who later moved to and worked in Maine and Santa Fe, New Mexico. His passion for photography began at a young age when he was gifted his first camera at the age of ten. His passion for photography was encouraged by his brother Fairfield Porter, and by another photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who pushed him to take his pursuit of photography seriously. Eventually, he left his career in medicine and devoted himself to capturing nature in color before his death in 1990.
Eliot Porter’s photos were largely inspired by his painter brother Fairfield Porter, the guidance and teachings of fellow photographer Alfred Stieglitz, and his own personal background in science and medicine. These things shaped his observant and precise style of photography. However, most of his ideas were drawn directly from nature, with him finding inspiration in the small details, colors, and patterns, of all the ecosystems he visited.