Tranquillity in the Landscape – Mindscapes by Todd Clare

Words by Jackson Hides

For photographer Todd Clare, the ability to step behind the lens and capture the tranquillity of the landscape is an exercise in mindfulness. His latest series of works, Mindscapes, emphasises this calm through tight compositions that call to mind a shift from movement to stillness.

Todd has long looked to nature as a meditative source. He says, “when you look through the lens of a camera, you experience the landscape…in a meditative state, we experience the mind through the lens of a high state of consciousness.” More specifically, he says that his process for capturing the landscapes depicted in his photos comes about after a period of observation through his lens, allowing him to calm his state of mind and providing the visuals before him a new significance.

San Pedro de Atacama in Chile and Laguna Colorada in Bolivia provided the source material for the Mindscapes series.
Mindscapes in situ, captured by Todd Clare and styled by Charlotte Coker

Mindscapes depicts a series of rugged landscapes throughout the Patagonia region of Chile and Bolivia. Todd feels that the fragility of the subject matter encourages a greater reflection towards the fragility of Earth itself, particularly in such a remote part of the planet. “The environment feels completely raw and unpredictable and to sit and observe this place was like nothing I have ever experienced,” he explains.

“When you look through the lens of a camera, you experience the landscape…in a meditative state, we experience the mind through the lens of a high state of consciousness.”

Finding calm in the transition from movement to stillness is central to Todd Clare’s work.
Todd reflecting upon one of his images. Captured by Jessie Prince.

Mindscapes depicts a series of rugged landscapes throughout the Patagonia region of Chile and Bolivia.

Chile’s Patagonia provided the back drop for some of the most evocative images in Mindscapes.

For Todd, printing his works in large scale print and on cotton rag fine art paper allows the viewer to experience more closely the emotions he felt at the time of capture, thanks to the level of detail on offer. This concept of capturing a still moment in an ever-evolving landscape is at the heart of the Mindscapes series, but also Todd’s work more generally. As he explains, “much like the concept of the yin and yang in Taoism, it seems that nature expresses itself through these polarities.”

“The environment feels completely raw and unpredictable and to sit and observe this place was like nothing I have ever experienced.”