Homeward Bound II (Mount Shasta, CA)
© Roman Loranc

Roman Loranc: Rooted in the California Natural World

There is an empty canoe drifting in the Consumnes River in the Central Valley of California. It’s photographer Roman Loranc’s ride. His way of slipping gently into one of the landscapes he loves.

He is facing away from the escaping canoe, knee deep in the river, with his tripod steadied on the river bottom and his 4 x 5 camera trained on the forms just visible in the distant mist. He hasn’t yet noticed that he is stranded.

It doesn’t matter. He is in another world. A world where he is seeing, smelling, hearing, feeling, and tasting the scene he is photographing. He has lost himself in the moment.

The Phantom Canoe. Roman turned “being stranded” into a work of art
© Roman Loranc

The Essence of Landscape Photography

A good landscape photographer understands composition, quality of light, and the effects of changes in time, weather, and season on the subject.

A great photographer understands all of the above, but also belongs to the scene he or she is capturing—rooted to the place. Connected with all senses.

Roman Loranc is such a photographer. One who understands how to be fully present when capturing a moment on film.

Belonging to the place (Oak, Carmel Valley, CA)
© Roman Loranc

Being Part of the Natural World

The canoe episode reveals much about how Roman lives his life.

“I know that I am a part of the natural order of things,” Roman explains. “I know because I feel it when I am quiet and let myself be a human being rather than a human doing. We are all part of the natural world, although we sometimes forget.”

A connection with all senses (Skyline Forest, Monterey, CA)
© Roman Loranc

He describes his time photographing as a process of opening all his senses, not just the visual. “I am present, sensing and feeling, my mind clear, connected to this world, my world.”

He talks of hearing insects buzzing, feeling a cool breeze, smelling the pungency of decaying leaves, tasting the moisture in the air. And because these things are intrinsically woven into his photographs, we feel something too.

Road to Mauna Kea
© Roman Loranc

His images have a haunting power. Drama and mystery. But, there is also a bit of melancholy, as if the simple beauty of these places is fleeting. Things change . . . and sometimes threaten to disappear forever.

A Photographic Path Across Cultures

Roman’s photographic life began in his childhood in Poland. He received his first camera at age 7 or 8, as he recalls. It broke soon after, but the short time he spent with it was life-changing. The idea of slicing a moment out of time to preserve forever was magic.

At 19, in Russia, he traded a pair of Levi’s for a 35 mm camera and darkroom equipment (a pretty good trade). Mentors and inspirations came his way.

Roman Loranc, a part of the natural world
© Bob Reade

He loved the chemistry (and alchemy) of the darkroom but freely admits that his first prints were horrible. He worked hard to learn despite the lack of materials in communist Poland. These milestones—both serendipitous and fought for—provided an undeniable path to the art of photography.

He left Poland in 1981 in search of freedom, defecting to the United States. Wisconsin at first, and then west. Somehow he knew California would become home.

“I had to leave in order to live, and the U.S. was where I felt I could do that best,” he remembers.

He was rewarded not only with personal freedoms but also with magnificent landforms.

Santa Lucia Highlands
© Roman Loranc

Respect for the Land

He took to the California Central Valley (and later the Mount Shasta area) like Ansel Adams took to Yosemite and the Westons took to the California central coast.

Like all artists who respect the land, he learned that the better you know it, the more its beauty reveals itself.

Tule Raft (Central Valley)
© Roman Loranc

Statuesque trees, minimalist tule, and misty mornings became his life blood. He admits to feeling a bit guilty when people love his photographs. It is nature that is beautiful, he says. “I get rewarded, but I don’t know if I deserve it.”

He shouldn’t be so humble. He is dedicated to his craft; does everything by hand; and, with vigilance to be envied, makes sure every image is consistent with his vision.

Crucified Landscape (Central Valley)
© Roman Loranc

A Technique with Commitment

Although he appreciates technology, having grown up without electricity or running water in the communist era, he is loyal to the traditional approach to photography.

His technique conveys his emotional response to a scene—from his choice of black-and-white film to his dedication to the perfection of prints—photographs where depth and mood are supported by the right palette of tones, the luminescence of the light, and the addition of sepia and selenium tone to provide an additional layer of feeling.

Craco, Italy
© Roman Loranc

Oh, I See: The Common Thread

Most of Roman’s photos celebrate the natural world via landscape photography, but he has also explored manmade forms. He describes the common thread as “moments of enlightenment.”

Mount Shasta at sunrise or a cathedral or synagogue in Eastern Europe can provide the same sense of the “gift of existence.”

“I understand the interplay of life and its dependency on a vital planet,” he says. “I feel a part of it, not apart from it.”

It is this connection that allows us into his world through his images. And we’re glad to be a part of it.

Valley Before the Rain
© Roman Loranc

Roman Loranc’s “Collection of New Work” is at the Photography West Gallery in Carmel, California until March 14, 2015.

Photography West Gallery has also produced two monographs of Loranc’s work—Fractal Dreams and Absolution.

To see more of Roman’s work, visit his website.

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