Mike Olbinski

Mike Olbinski from Arizona focusses on wedding photography and landscapes, mostly of storms. I decided to pick this photographer  to write about as I really like depth shown in a lot of his photography, and find the colours of the sky in the different landscapes very appealing.

My favourite thing about this image is the colours in the sky. I really like the variety of different tones and how they come together to create the form of the clouds. I also like the way the vivid pink stands out against the blue and grey colours as it attracts the eye and makes the sky look very appealing and unusual. I like how the sky is very contrasting against the ground, as it is very colourful and bright while the ground is very dull and plain. The road shows depth as it gets thinner the further away from the camera it gets. Something I realised about this photograph is that long exposure has captured the headlights of a car travelling down the road. This colour matches the pink tones in the sky and I think it is a nice touch to the image. The outline of the mountains in the distance can be seen clearly as the dark blue silhouette of the mountains contrasts against the lighter blue sky. 

I like this image because it is quite minimalistic. The shape and lines in the bright white lightning can be clearly seen as they contrast significantly against the deep purple sky. I like how the lightening is not central in the frame so that more of the minimalistic landscape is visible. This composition also works because there is not much else in the frame to distract the eye away from the lightening, so it does not need to take up much of the frame to stand out. Different tones can be seen in the top half of the sky so that the form of the clouds can be seen. The outline of the mountains on the horizon can be seen clearly due to the contrast between them and then sky which is slightly lighter. Something I think really adds to this image is the small lights in the bottom right corner. This establishes that there is a town in this location. 

I find that this image is very appealing to the eye. I really like the different tones visible in the sky and how they fade into one another. I also like how the different tones show the form to establish the cloudy area. The point where the ground becomes the sky is very clear as the very dark ground contrasts against orange horizon. The stars really add to the image as they create a pattern and make the scene look more fascinating. The car adds a sense of journey and adventure, and as there is no blur of movement it is implied that the car is stationary. Even though it is black against black, we are still able to see the car due to the light reflecting off the body, and the white contrasting wheels. The inside of the car is also lit up which draws the eye in. Because the horizon consists of light orange tones, we are able to see where the shape of the car more clearly. If the sky was dark at the bottom, it would blend into the car and it would be harder to identify.

This image is different from the others, as it shows a close up vehicle rather than a landscape or storm. The colours in this photograph are quite dull and dark, which I think emphasises how the vehicle is quite worn away. The lines on the side of the vehicle show texture, which the different tones in the ground also do. I like the way the sun is shining through the corner of the windscreen, as it attracts the eye and adds to the image. We can see a clear outline of the front of the vehicle as it contrasts against the bright plain sky. The way the door of the vehicle is open creates a sense of adventure or journey.

Looking at Mike Olbinski's photography, I feel influenced to experiment with sky photography. I really like the different colours visible in a lot of his landscapes, and this is something that I would like in my own photography. I would also like to clearly show the form of clouds in the sky as I think it makes the images a lot more interesting and gives the eye more to look at. This can be achieved by increasing the contrast of sky images, which is something I might try. I would also feel like I want to focus more on depth, as in Mike's photography the clear sense of depth really makes the images more interesting. 

After looking at more of Mike Olbinski's photography and exploring his website in more depth, I noticed that a lot of his photographs are similar, not only his storm photography but also his gallery of 'lost things'. Although he is obviously a very skilled photographer and I do enjoy looking at his work, I find that his images slightly lack variation, which doesnt leave me intrigued to carry on looking at more of his work.