All images by Vassilis Tangoulis. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Previously, we marveled at how Greek fine art photographer Vassilis Tangoulis borrowed from the film noir aesthetic to create his atmospheric landscape snaps. This time, we put the spotlight on his calming minimalist treatment on another of his sets made possible by his skillful use of long exposure for landscape photography. If this is a technique you’ve been wanting to try for your next landscape photography, the selection will surely inspire you.
Several years ago, Tangoulis headed to one of his favorite body of water, Lake Tourlida in Mesologgi, Greece, where he did a beautiful long exposure study that became Waterland. If his previously featured set, Film Noir, appealed to the mysterious look that long exposures lend to monochrome photos, this one takes advantage of the calmness that the technique also creates.
Bodies of water, as we all know by now, are perfect for making magic with long exposures, which is exactly what Tangoulis did for this set. In the shallow areas, the ripples became smooth and almost glassy, rendering beautiful symmetrical reflections of the houses and structures he snapped. In deeper waters where the movement of water was more pronounced, we see a dreamy stillness instead. Even the movement of the skies have become surreal and somewhat painterly in this beautiful exercise.
This minimalist style and tranquil imagery are prominent and very well utilized throughout his black and white landscape photography, even with his occasional experiments in color. This, he said in his artist statement, represents a photographic vision best described as “capturing the time in a world where ‘present’ is only an infinitesimal part of time, a fleeting illusion dividing almost infinite past and future.”
If you want to see more of his landscape photography, don’t forget to check out Vassilis Tangoulis’s website and Behance porfolio.
