Of the Earth
A bright red barn with a slanted roof, surrounded by a cornfield; bamboo swaying in the wind; golden rays of the late-day sun illuminating the tops of pine trees in the distance making them look like tall-stemmed yellow flowers; seemingly parched, arid land emitting clouds of steam - these images capture for me the striking visual appeal and emotion that landscapes offer. During Covid-19, I spent a lot of time in rural Virginia, and many of the images reflect a stillness, a peacefulness, a connection to nature and the Earth, which is what I was seeking as a balm to the stresses of pandemic life.
Far from rural VA, in remote Iceland, I found intriguing, almost incomprehensible contrasts, like cracks in the crust of sandy deserts releasing vapor, signifying the land is filled with hidden, barely contained energy. In the aesthetic, emotional and, without a doubt, reverential response to such visual fragments of the Earth, I found the *raison d’être* for the collection of 29 images below.
Photograph on bright, sunny day in June of red barn with four boarded up windows and a door, in rural, VA, in middle of field of corn, cornfield, dark green trees in distance, clouds just above trees in blue sky, by photograph by Karen Jordan Images in Burgess, VA.
Blades of wheat dominate this rural landscape photograph of a wheat field in June with a row of dark green trees and a blue, cloudless sky in Lilian, Northern Neck, Northumbereland, VA, by photographer Karen Jordan.
Karen Jordan’s fine art photograph captures lone rural Icelandic church scene as quiet, dignified, fitting place for last stop before the passage to eternity.
Ephemeral, early spring landscape of countryside, early morning light, fog approaches from distance to shroud trees in background then clearing visibility from the nearest dark green tree, to the grapeseed and grasses in the foreground,
Rural churchyard landscape at dawn, early morning light in the distance behind church creating long, deep shadows in the churchyard; in the background, the cemetery graveyard is shrouded in early morning fog, a methodist church, Westmoreland_County, VA.
A lush, thick stand of bamboo, partially in shade and partially highlighted in sun, with one towering bamboo stalk leaning in the foreground in this pastoral landscape photographed by artist photographer Karen Jordan in the Northern Neck of VA, Chesapeake Bay Region.
In this landscape, an infinity pool of still water in foreground is bordered by lush foliage of plants, which it reflects, along with a row of clouds in a blue sky hovering above the distant mountains, on top of one of which we can see the golden dome and spire of a Buddhist temple, by Washington, DC, photographer Karen Jordan, fine art photographer, who shot this picture in Luang Prabang, Laos, Southeast Asia, while on a National Geographic Expedition in Laos.
Landscape photograph of row of houses and fence with road leading to far distance, houses covered in sod, with stone walls, Northeast Iceland, by photographer Karen Jordan.
Award-winning fine art photo “Alternating Current” by Karen Jordan captures illusion of late day sun transforming still swimming pool water into seemingly electrified currents.
At the edge of a meadow, a row of feathery spires of green stand in front of a row of tall dried grasses, with dark green tree foliage in the background in this Northern Neck, VA, landscape photograph by Washington, DC, photographer Karen Jordan.
Branches of dark green leaves in the foreground rise to intersect with descending tall pale green and grey bamboo stalks in distance in reflection on water of pond in this landscape by Washington,DC, photographer Karen Jordan in Northern Neck, VA, Chesapeake Bay.
Golden rays of the late-day sun illuminate the tops of pine trees in the distance making them look like tall-stemmed yellow flowers in this autumn landscape by the Chesapeake Bay in the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Early autumn scene, high tide flows into yellow marsh grasses, plants with white spires at water’s edge with dark green foliage in background, photographed by Washington, DC, photographer Karen Jordan, lagoon, Chesapeake Bay, Northern Neck, VA.
Sesuvium ground vegetation in its desert mode of red and green succulent perennials remain the stalwart vegetation in the long wait for the beginning of the wet season on an Island, in the Galápagos.
A fumarole in a geothermal field in NE Iceland vents steam of volcanic gases in the parched earth; in the distance, other vents in the earth’s crust spew steam, while distant figures appear to walk among them, partially shrouded in steam, photographed by Karen Jordan Images.
Layers of multicolored volcanic strata formed throughout the ages created this curious but wondrous, otherworldly landscape of an uninhabited island in the Galápagos Archipelago by Karen Jordan Fine Art Photography.
Light and shadow symmetrically fill a stone passage way lined with imposing sandstone pillars that led monks and worshippers through the Angkor Wat pilgrimage site.
Photograph of steam arising from infertile volcanic soil in dramatic landscape of Skútustaóahreppur, Northeast Iceland, near Akureyri, by DC fine art photographer Karen Jordan.
Clouds of steam rising over dark, barren volcanic hills near Akureyri, Nordurland eystra, Iceland, by Washington, DC, photographer Karen Jordan.
THE PRECIPICE is about experiencing the thrill, power and majesty of being close to the precipice of a mighty waterfall in NE Iceland.
Three water falls cascading onto dark rocks at waterfall in Golden Circle, near Reykjavik, Iceland, by Washington, DC, photographer Karen Jordan.
VIRTUS is an image that captures the thrill of being close to the power and majesty of a mighty waterfall.
Apocalyptic sky, with dramatic purple, red, orange tinged clouds above a band of yellow sky with car lights approaching in the distance, Coming Soon, Montross, Route 3 is a photograph taken at sunset after a storm by DC Photrographer Karen Jordan along Route 3 in Montross, VA.
Ripples of dramatic clouds appear in a baby blue sky when a dramatic, colorful dawn breaks at The Point, the gateway to the lagoon, at sunrise on Chesapeake Bay, near Reedville, VA,a landscape photograph by Karen Jordan, Washington, DC, visual artist.
An autumn scene on a pond - A red maple leaf lies on the surface of the water, and underneath, Pond, creatures - swimmers and plankton - thrive, by photographer Karen Jordan.
Black and white photograph of darkly shadowed shapes in grey and black in a mountainous landscape, their forms becoming less distinct in the hazy distance; a lowering sky with ominous, dark clouds hovering overhead.
Two leaves and a shell, objects in the sand on a beach on a Chesapeake Bay lagoon, Reedville, VA, photograph by Karen Jordan.
Picture of ruins of an ancient Temple, in Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Southeast Asia, with large carved blocks of stone fallen in the foreground, a series of doorways receding into the distance with a golden entrance in the mid ground and indistinct foliage seen in the opening at the end, in this dramatic photograph by Karen Jordan Images.
Standing vigil as a guardian for centuries in the jungle ruins of a royal monastery and temple in Angkorian region, Cambodia, a lone Buddhist devata, a sacred woman deity, witnesses the mutability of things that man makes overtaken by the forces of nature, and time.