Welcome to Chris Olson Prints, where the beauty of the Midwest comes alive through stunning landscape photography.
About Chris Olson: With a deep appreciation for the natural wonders of the rural Midwest, Chris Olson is a professional landscape photographer dedicated to capturing the essence and grandeur of this enchanting region. Based in Minnesota, Chris explores the diverse landscapes of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and beyond, seeking out the hidden gems and breathtaking vistas that make the Midwest truly remarkable.
Capturing the Beauty of the Midwest: The Midwest is a land of contrasts, where vast open fields meet rolling hills, and serene lakes give way to dramatic skies. Chris Olson’s photography reflects the unique charm and character of the region, highlighting its ever-changing seasons, vibrant colors, and captivating landscapes. From the golden sunflower fields of Minnesota to the expansive cornfields of Iowa, each photograph tells a story and invites you to embark on a visual journey through the heartland of America.
Unveiling Nature’s Wonders: Chris’s portfolio showcases a diverse collection of landscape prints that celebrate the awe-inspiring beauty of the Midwest. With an impeccable eye for detail and composition, Chris captures the essence of each scene, preserving the delicate balance between the man-made structures and the majestic power of nature. From the rustic barns nestled in fields to the tranquil lakes reflecting the golden hues of a sunset, his photographs evoke a sense of tranquility and admiration for the natural world.
Fine Art Prints of Uncompromising Quality: At Chris Olson Prints, we believe that every print should be a true masterpiece, worthy of being displayed and cherished. That’s why each landscape photograph is meticulously printed on premium Fujicolor Crystal Archive Digital Paper, ensuring exceptional color accuracy, sharpness, and longevity. We offer a range of finishing options, including luster (semigloss), gloss, matte, and satin, allowing you to customize your print to suit your personal style and preferences.
Find Your Perfect Print: Explore our collection of unique landscape photography prints and immerse yourself in the beauty of the Midwest. Whether you’re searching for a statement piece for your home or office, a thoughtful gift for a loved one, or simply an artistic memento of the Midwest’s splendor, we have a print that will captivate your heart and enrich your space.
Thank you for joining us on this visual journey through the Midwest. We invite you to discover the beauty that lies within each photograph and to bring the spirit of the heartland into your life through the captivating prints of Chris Olson.
Watch a short video of some small edits to a raw image file using Lightroom.
His goal of instilling awareness and inspiration in his audience and others that may not otherwise get to share the same experiences continues to drive his work.
PUBLISHED AWARDS HONORS
Canvas Print Gifted to Norway
A four-image collage printed on canvas featuring scenes from the town of Elbow Lake, MN was gifted to the town's sister city of Flekkefjord, Norway by the Elbow Lake mayor Deb Hengel.
Grant County Living Cover Photo
Cover photo featured in the 2017 issue of Grant County Living magazine.
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
Awarded first place winner of a photo contest by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar that featured submissions of scenes that can be found throughout the state of Minnesota.
Peoples Choice Award Recipient
Awarded the Peoples Choice Award at the Horizontal Grandeur Exhibit at the Stevens County Historical Society in 2018.
Photo Contest 2nd Place
Placed 2nd place in a photo contest by Otter Tail Lakes Country organization that had hundreds of submissions.
Local Newspaper Article
Featured Photo of the Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday Train in the Grant County Herald.
Front Cover of Published Book
Front cover photo feature of a book titled "Stepping Stones To Freedom" authored by Crystal Steege.
FOX 9 TWIN CITIES COMMERCIAL
Promo video for a morning show on local Fox 9 TV station. The commercial aired frequently over the course of one year featuring the sunflower field at sunset photo.
2020 Sioux Falls Business Directory Cover
10's of thousands of this yearly publication were distributed throughout Sioux Falls and the surrounding area featuring a photo taken at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD during Christmas time.
Front Page Newspaper Headline
Frontpage headline article in the Daily Journal discussing the gallery exhibit display at the Otter Tail County Museum.
PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
First place winner award for a photo contest held by a senior citizen care facility in Traverse County, Minnesota.
Art of Freedom First Place Award
2016 First Place Award recipient by popular vote at the First Annual Art of Freedom event.
Newspaper Event Promo Feature
The Fireworks display image of the Detroit Lakes Polar Fest was featured in a promo article in the local Detroit Lakes, MN newspaper.
Representational landscape photography
Representational landscape photography strives to present the viewer with an accurate depiction of the scene in front of the camera. It is not stylized. It is not abstracted. However, it’s probably enhanced to better meet the photographer’s vision of the scene rather than what the camera records (which is different than what the human eye sees). It doesn’t bear much in the way of description as it’s best to show rather than tell. The photos displayed under this heading are all representational landscape photography.
Representational landscape photography makes up most of the landscape photography you see these days. For some reason, most people like their landscape photography looking as realistic as possible. This means that a photographer taking a representational approach will always find a market for their photography if they look and work hard enough for it. The downside is that “everyone else is doing it.” This means that it will be MUCH more difficult to differentiate yourself if you are a representational landscape photographer.
Impressionistic
Impressionistic landscape photography seeks to present the viewer with a particular mood when viewing the photo. One may alter colors to be brighter or more muted for example. It is still somewhat representational of the scene but takes some liberties with the captured scene in order to create the mood the photographer wants to convey with the photo. Take the photos under this heading, for example. Each one has a different mood which it conveys due to not looking like representational landscape photography. Can you guess what each mood is?
While still grounded in the original subject matter, one must take certain liberties when processing up a regular landscape photo into an impressionistic landscape photo. For instance, one might alter sunlight shining through a cloud to look like a giant fireball. The mood is achieved but you’re still very much looking at a grounded landscape photograph (though not representational anymore).
You might consider impressionistic landscape photography the point were classic art forms start mixing in with photography to create unique compositions of light. I occasionally dabble in impressionistic landscape photography.
Abstract
You might easily confuse abstract landscape photography with abstract photography if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Abstract landscape photography uses a landscape but completely loses any representational elements in favor of abstracting to a mood. You may recognize that an abstract landscape photo is a landscape photo or you may not. It’s all abstract. Leaving you thinking and guessing is all a part of abstract art of any kind.
Abstract landscape photography will emphasize shapes, colors, textures, and other elements without a clear representational picture of the subject. Some abstract landscape photography will even de-emphasize or lose sharpness altogether in favor of those other elements. I’ve seen abstract landscape photography which have no sharpness at all. Everything is blurry in order to show movement of some fashion (think waves on the sea). Obviously, abstract landscape photography is not something I experiment with much, however, to each: their own.
Being a landscape photographer, I can say that this is comparatively a tough genre of photography, especially from a physical point of view. One has to be physically fit to do landscape photography. To do landscape photography, the photographer has to travel a lot to shoot good-quality landscapes. If one has to be considered a good landscape photographer, he/she has to be very strong in the following aspects:
1. Strong composition and post-processing.
2. Has to be well acquainted with what to include in the frame and what to leave out.
3. Have to shoot manually to get the best possible exposure.
4. Proper planning is another important point to execute in the scene in the best possible way.
5. Another important thing is to learn to visualize the scene, visualization is very important to become a good landscape photographer.
6. Have to see things in your own way, which makes your image different from others.
7. The best time for landscape photography is early morning and late evening when the sunlight falls at a 45 degrees angle.
8. Last but not least, for a good landscape one has to go beyond comfort level.