They’re in his nature

In the mid nineties when natural photographer William Neill took a trip to Banff National Park in Alberta Canada, a well-known shot he took of the shimmering turquoise water of Lake Louise was nearly forgotten.

Although serene and simple in composition, “Dawn Lake Louise,” packs a lot of emotional impact with people and has become Neill’s bestselling photo.

“This photo snuck by my memory until I processed it. It was simple and minimalist,” said the 56 year old Neill, “the grand glaciers and peaks never showed up at sunrise when I was shooting”.

This photo, along with 23 others from Neill’s collection are on display at “William Neill: Intimate Landscapes” at the Ordover Gallery in the San Diego Natural History Museum.

The photos, spanning from 1982 to 2009, come from settings such as Hawaii, Colorado, California and Canada.

“His images are interpretive rather than a documentary style like most nature photography,” said Annaliese Cassarino, curator and gallery director of the Ordover Gallery, “and he’s a master printer which plays a big part in creating his unique style.”

For more than 30 years he has been photographing the intimate details of American landscapes for publications such as “National Geographic,” “Smithsonian,” and Conde Nast Traveler” and received the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams Award for Conservation photography.

Neill began taking photos in 1972 while working a summer job in Glacier National Park in Montana.

“I would take long backpacking trips to some amazing places and took pictures with my little with Kodak Instamatic as I wanted to share the experience with others.,” said Neill. “Those summer jobs got me revved up.”

As he became more serious and passionate about photography he traded up to a 35 mm camera then eventually a 4x5 view camera and currently uses a high resolution digital camera.

Neill graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in environmental conservation. “That tied into what I was doing photographically,” he said. Neill then headed to Yosemite, where he currently resides, and took a seasonal job with the National Park Services. He worked for a time at Ansel Adams Gallery while the celebrated photographer he was still alive.

Neill says he likes to take the Zen like point of view approach in his work. By simply exploring and experiencing nature, he captures what catches his interest. Although he tends to work the ‘magic hour’ of sunrise and sunset, “ I also like soft or quiet light. A rainy day or an afternoon with the sun going down.” Many of his images on display are wet and lush featuring elements of fog, dew or mist conveying a mysterious, ethereal quality.

“I think it harkens back to the fact that he’d prefer to create an image that poses a question rather than an answer,” said Cassarino.”People become more deeply involved with the imagery “.

Neill’s landscapes images are not the stereotypical grand postcard types. “They are small views that give sense of detail and place about the subject,” he said.. For this he uses a longer lense for a tighter focus on intimate details. For example, the black and white “Corn Lilies,” taken in Yosemite’s Summit Meadow, shows off their intricate design resembling a cluster of cornstalks. A photo strongly influenced by Ansel Adams.

24 of Neill’s images are on display along with 28 other photos by abstract artist Bill Atkinson, Abe Ordover and Carr Clifton.

The Exhibit runs through August 15.