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Sebastian Lemm and Amanda Friedman
In one photograph, twisting tree branches form improbable patterns; in another, a tree gleams as if it’s been covered in radioactive slop. Photoshop is only responsible for the first of these images: Sebastian Lemm’s series, “Editing Nature,” depends on digital manipulation, while Amanda Friedman creates her tree’s eerie glow and other amazing effects in her series, “Night Landscapes,” with natural light alone.
A German artist living in New York City, Lemm offers a convincing image of a mutated forest in his large-scale Schattenseite #12, which, like many of his photographs, was shot with a harsh flash. Twin brown stalks reach upward while splayed grayish branches seem to swat at them in a skewed version of nocturnal nature photography.
The L.A.-based Friedman’s contrasting low-tech approach is one that Ansel Adams would appreciate. Friedman’s brilliant use of natural light and long exposures makes the trees in Cypress Trees, Marina Del Rey, CA pulsate with energy against a crisply defined, almost black sky. And in Eucalyptus Tree, Hollywood, CA, Friedman captures a thin tree that resembles a giant, snow-white hand casting a spell on the night; the image epitomizes the artist’s otherworldly gaze.
At times, Lemm’s and Friedman’s photos are so slick they seem like superficial ads in glossy magazines. But if you can overlook that, these photographs will shine some light on nighttime aesthetics.
