Catching Light
Compelling Qs with nature photographer Laura Gans
There are times - a rainy day in New York City - when my only connection to nature comes from other people’s pictures, (probably the single best remaining reason to stay on social media). I scroll New York City bird photographers on Twitter, big wave surfer POV shots on Instagram, and hikers on Facebook who seem fearless of the heights that keep me off rocky ridges. Each offers me something different—a place I’ll never go, a path I once walked, or a fresh look at the hidden ecosystem that surrounds me.
And then there are the images that transport me to a quiet moment at a time of day when the light hits just right. These are the photos of Laura Gans. Laura is an old friend, an attorney, and a nature photographer living and working in Vermont.
Like a lot of the kids, I’ve launched a return to cameras and film, (the workhorse Nikon I’ve had since high school and a very stylish but difficult to master Konica Hexar) as part of an ongoing effort to detach, just a little, from tech. The results are unsatisfying but the process is quite pleasing. But, I’d like to get better! And so in an effort to “deepen my practice” (as they pitched in the seemingly disappeared 200 hour yoga teacher training courses of yesteryear), I connected with Laura in the hopes of seeing the art of photography a little more clearly.
I love her work, described thusly by the Center for Arts and Learning in Montpellier Vermont from a recent exhibition:
“While her subjects range from architecture to the natural world, her compositions are unequivocally clean and graphic, focusing on details that articulate solid forms. Her stark, direct approach sheds new light on forms that are relatively ordinary – a flower or the side of a building. Many of Gans’ images, some taken years apart, have an uncanny compositional resonance with each other that brings out new meanings – whether it’s the rational, architectural quality of pine needles or the elegance and grace of a bird and a parachute in flight. The weight of spaces in her photographs draws in the air around them. Looking at them is almost an experience of sculpture.”
All true. I see all that. But what grabs me is the feeling state her photos deliver; stillness, order, an emotional moment in the physical world, where I can be elevated out my environment and into another, where I can breathe a little deeper. This, a total gift when I’m sitting on the 6 train, wishing I was somewhere else. Laura’s photos take me there.
And so, please enjoy:
Q’s with Nature Photographer Laura Gans
Laura! When you go out with your camera, is there something you're on the look-out for?
Sometimes I will want to catch a specific thing, like the trees and mountains at peak fall foliage or after a heavy snow. But other times, I will venture out and see what I might discover; that’s where a lot of the joy comes from - the prospect of capturing something that speaks to me and I always hope, to others.
What is your eye most attuned to? Is it a certain light a subject, a time of day?
Generally speaking, I try to remain mindful of the light and how it looks at different times of the day and season. But mostly I usually just take my iPhone or camera with me on a walk, or on a drive and am drawn to different shapes, shadows, scenes, people for whatever reason. It’s like a compulsion more than a considered task, if that makes any sense. (It sure does!) I have to get myself somewhere, for sure, but then it’s just whatever catches my eye. I sometimes in the deepest recesses of my mind think of myself as a street photographer, but since the focus here, in Vermont is on nature, that’s the street.
How has your photography evolved over the years and how might it still be evolving?
Another great question. I think overall I remain drawn to the same types of shapes, shadows, etc. I think if anything has changed or evolved is my willingness to share images that are a little more out of the box or abstract.
You live in Vermont so there's no shortage of natural beauty and your photos are very artistic - but you recently shared images of the devastating flood waters - I'm imagining that the beauty of nature and the climate crisis fury of nature existed side by side. Do you have any thoughts you might share from your recent experiences?
Yes, 100%. The wilder, the more beautiful, but it is tempered by the knowledge that the wild natural event, like flooding, will hurt others and/or seriously disrupt their lives. At these moments, when wild beauty and potentially devastating consequences converge, the joy I typically feel capturing an image is replaced with more of a photojournalistic approach, I think. I am not saying that I don’t feel excited or engaged, but I can’t let myself experience any joy, if that makes sense.
Photographing the natural world appears to be such a peaceful practice, and then suddenly it isn't...BTW I was grateful to be able to see those images online and know what was happening on a human scale.
It is definitely peaceful in that I like to spend time alone in the natural world, but it is usually pretty thrilling, or can be, when I see something I think is grand or beautiful or evocative. Thank you so so much.
For you, is photography meditative?
I think more than anything, photography is a compulsion. If I am out and have a camera or my iPhone, I usually just click away. So I think in that way, it is definitely meditative since I am so into it.
Could photography be the stress reliever we all need?
I think if you love to do something, that is the best stress reliever, or maybe just quality of life enhancing and thus in that regard, stress relieving because it is restorative even if not calming in the traditional sense.
Influences? Who do you love?
There are so many talented photographers and artists out there! The greats, like Adams, Porter. And although I tend to shoot objects more than people, I so want to take more people photos. In that regard, I love Diane Arbus, Walker Evans, Robert Frank. People that depict life in its most exaggerated, poignant, sad incarnations.
Let's talk editing software. What’s your process and what do you use?
I do all my editing on my iPad, and use a PS Express, a cousin to Lightroom I believe, and the editing program on my iPad. When I edit I try to stay true to the subject but to also highlight or emphasize/de-emphasize aspects of the subject that are consistent with my vision for it, for what I think is interesting to reveal about it.
Equipment?
iPhone 14 when it’s not convenient to use a regular camera.
My regular cameras are an old used Nikon D800 (Ebay) which takes beautiful, rich images, and my newer D7500, which takes great pics but has a few more modern capabilities such as wifi connectivity.
I rely on three F mount Nikon/Nikkor lenses:
a 50 mm prime
A basic telephoto zoom (70-300mm)
My prized 200-500 mm zoom for best range.
And a tripod for low light shots.
And finally, 5 things you love about Waterbury Vermont?
The restaurants, including the Prohibition Pig, and Zachary’s Pizza (they’ve got the best meatball sub, on par with Pizza Village in Montauk, mid 1970s era.
It’s so walkable.
Great art and other types of festivals throughout the summer.
Lots of tourists in the winter which keeps everything thing feeling alive and happening even on the coldest, darkest days!
People are friendly!
I hope to visit Waterbury this coming winter when I’ll be at a nearby writing retreat, (it’s the town I picture as the setting for David Mamet’s State and Main) but until then, Laura’s photos will continue to inspire, soothe, and captivate me with sharply drawn moments of natural beauty, small town living, and that amazing northern light.
Click to follow Laura on Insta @la.gans
and until next time,
Happy Fall Photography to all who celebrate!