Landscapes

Alright, you remember a little while back when I wrote that "Out-of-Doors" post about how terrible the outdoors were? . . . Yeah, see, I was actually lying, I love the outdoors.  (Well, not so much "lying" as being ironic, but for some people I guess that's the same thing.)  Anyway, today I'd like to commentate on some really gorgeous pictures and hopefully encourage everyone to go outside more.  Because the world is a beautiful place where people don't pave over it.

Mount Fuji!  Ahhh.  I know, I used this one before, but it is really pretty.  I just like the sense of depth, the light hitting the snow, and the striking color in the foreground, even if the flowers are a bit blurry.

And then we have an illustration by Ted Naismith from Tolkien's Silmarillion.  I adore the lighting and the crisp, clear look of the water.  (A little line-y on the mountain slopes, though.)

I'm not sure where this is.  But I love the lighting and the depth even though the foreground is sort of colorless.

Holy cow the COLOR in this one!  Hints of red, a surprising and awesome amount of purple, and plenty of green.

This may well be my favorite painting ever, though the photo doesn't do it justice.  Every time I find a photo where the volcano is orange enough, the moon isn't blue enough, and vice versa.  Just try to imagine this with a little more orange and a little more blue.  I love the still, peaceful blue of the blue shining behind the vivid light of the lava, plus the depth provided by foreground.

This isn't a landscape per se.  But I like the color balance—I love the blue!—I like the balance of negative and positive space, the rocks are aesthetically shaped, and the glimpse of the stones under the shallow water.

Another painting from the Silmarillion.  Gosh, I love the starlight, the depth . . . Really love how this just captures twilight.  I'd lose the people, though.  And even though the color is pretty it doesn't vary that much.

. . . Ahhh, yes, this is from Bambi.  In my defense, that movie has some of the most beautiful backgrounds ever used in an animated film.  And I just realized choosing this picture how much I like willow trees . . . I mean, I like trees in general—they're awesome—but willow trees have the potential to be so pretty.  I also like the color in the image.

 Unfortunately, I couldn't find an image from the scene depicted here that really captured the aesthetic I was looking for—that is, the bit where the wind creates a wave of light rolling over the grass.  The overall color and moonlight is deliciously atmospheric.

The artists did such a good job depicting winter in all its subtleties.  (sighhhh . . .)  Crisp, clean branches poking out of the soft bluey blend of snow shading.  Snow in the morning?  Meh.  Snow at twilight?  Ahhhhh . . .