Richard Green

Richard Green, could be an unfamiliar name to many. You may possibly get the different guy Richard Greene (with an 'e' behind) who was a screen star in "The Adventure of Robin Hood" if you try 'google' it.

I went to Canberra to renew my passport 2 weeks ago and saved the chance for wandering around. There, i bumped into National Library of Australia. In a small exhibition space provided there, i got to know the name-- Richard Green.

Richard Green. A landscape photographer. Unlike many of the art pieces in exhibition, his photographs are simply straightforward, bold, and simple. Not abstract. Not vague. Simply breathtaking.

(His photographs stand the most only when you are in the exhibition looking at the real size pieces.)

His photographs are mainly of wild places of this big "down-under" island-- Australia. Some of his photographs take up to some lengths beyond 2 metres. They were taken with high resolution of camera, high ambient spectrum of richest colors, and the very spirit of the places. He insists to take the photos with the best positions regardless of the piling attempts of visits to a place at different times, difficult standing points at the cliff of mountains or the edge of waterfall rocks or in the wet swamp, just to capture the best timing, weather and the sense of place with his lens. His extraordinarily huge photographs give strong impact from far-away sight and also delicately depict every single details of the landscape, the life on it, the coverage of the shadow, and even his own shadow among the trees that takes up only maybe about 0.2% of the overall photo size.

What i am impressed about his works and his passionate insistence is somewhat behind his lens-- his philosophy and intention of his artworks. From his photography, life on the earth seems to be extremely small, inter-relying and precious. "You only live once", is what came into your mind looking on the artworks. Nature, is the art itself. And most of his photographs were taken in dawn or sunset time of which the best timing for the richest colors from the atmosphere is hence ultimately transient. Naturally, people tend to think and feel the most at the times of dawn and sunsets because of the awareness and sense of time.

From his photographs, Richard Green illustrate how life is transient, beautiful, strong and yet fragile on the seemingly tough but emotional earth. It comes also with the urge to seriously look into the very inch of our environment, what we have been doing and should be doing.


When you look into his photographs, you look at the places, you hear the chirping sound, you feel the cooling breeze, you smell the wet earth. You are simply overwhelmed.


p/s 1:
Richard Green: Wild Places 27 August – 27 September 2008
Byron McMahon Gallery, 88 George Street Redfern, Sydney
Open Wednesday – Saturday 11- 5pm, www.byronmcmahongallery.com.au
(Click here for PDF Source)
(and here for The Sydney Morning Herald news page)

p/s 2: He uses Canon EOS 1Ds digital camera equipment. I insist to use Canon cameras too though i am not as professional. I love the colors from Canon lenses. Sony is too supernatural, Panasonic is too digital, Nikon is too conservative. BUT, of course, it is more about the users, not the tools. Strong heart leads the light.