The Art of Ethereal Landscape Photography
In this collection, landscapes are reimagined as gentle impressions rather than literal places. Through a blend of abstraction and subtle detail, each work offers a quiet exploration of mood, memory, and the passing of time. Ethereal landscape photography becomes a way to consider how light, form, and feeling can shape our experience of nature.
Landscapes Created Through In-Camera Techniques
Selected limited edition prints from the
Ethereal Landscape Photography Collection
Techniques and Inspiration Behind Ethereal Landscape Photography
This collection of ethereal landscape photography brings together artworks created to honour the mood and emotion of the landscape as it is experienced in person. Whether working with single-exposure impressions, in-camera multiple exposures, HDR blending, or layered textures, my focus is on interpretation rather than documentation. Sometimes the process extends into mixed media and painting, combining techniques to create expressive, impressionistic landscape art. I see the camera as a powerful instrument on the workbench—an essential tool for translating a feeling into a visual impression. Each piece is shaped by instinct and the quiet poetry of place. Many of these approaches are shared with students on the Swellendam Art & Photography Retreat, where we explore how to create abstract landscape art that transcends the literal and moves into something more emotive and timeless.
Caprice
Photographed just down the road from my studio on a winter’s morning, Caprice captures a corridor of natural forest beside the river. While the trees remained in shadow, the mountain behind had already caught the first light of day. This contrast allowed me to overexpose the sky slightly, creating a lighter, airy mood without losing the ethereal feel. Using in-camera multiple exposures, I shaped an impression that feels both familiar and dreamlike. Sometimes, we don’t have to travel far to find inspiration—“an acre of diamonds can be found in our own backyard.” (This saying is often attributed to Russell H. Conwell.)
Artwork Details
Secrets in Eden Collection
Secrets in Eden is an ongoing body of work that began in a secluded forest hidden in a deep gorge on the back slopes of Table Mountain. This place felt so untouched and quietly magnificent that, for a time, I wanted to keep it to myself—like a small corner of the Garden of Eden. In this collection, I’ve set out to create ethereal landscape photography that pays tribute to the signature styles of artists I admire. Each piece is shaped through the camera lens using multiple exposures layered one over another, allowing light and form to blend in ways that resemble paintings through the use of photography.
Secrets in Eden | Matisse
Inspired by the words of Henri Matisse, who said that one must have the courage to create art, I approached this forest scene with a sense of bold experimentation. Matisse’s expressive use of colour and shape has long influenced my work, and here, multiple in-camera exposures were layered to evoke a painterly impression that feels both mysterious and alive. An abstract composition where warm autumn tones blend with delicate textures, to experience the forest as a place of hidden stories of transformation.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Artist: Martin Osner | Archival pigment print on fine art paper | Edition: Limited to 10 prints (regardless of size)
Suggested Sizes: 80 x 60 cm (31 x 23") or 110 x 83 cm (43 x 31") — custom sizes available on request
Certificate: Hand-signed with a certificate of authenticity
Secrets in Eden | Monet
In this artwork, the luminous brushwork of Claude Monet became a point of reference for creating a forest scene where colour and softness take precedence over detail. Layered in-camera exposures allowed the light to dissolve into the foliage, evoking a sense of gentle movement and atmosphere. The warm autumn palette and delicate textures reflect the idea that nature is never static but constantly shifting and bursting with life.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Secrets in Eden | Van Gogh
For this piece, I wanted to echo the energy and movement that define Van Gogh’s work. Using layered in-camera exposures, I created a composition where the forest seems to shift and swirl with its own quiet life. Deep colours and textured lines suggest the emotional intensity that Van Gogh brought to even the simplest scenes. In this way, the image becomes less about a specific place and more about the feeling of being immersed in it.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Ethereal Reverie Collection
Artist: Martin Osner | Medium: Archival pigment print on fine art paper | Edition: Limited to 20 prints (regardless of size)
Suggested Sizes: 60 x 80 cm (24 x 32") or 83 x 110 cm (33 x 40") — custom sizes available on request
Certificate: Hand-signed with a certificate of authenticity
Infrared photography has long fascinated me for its ability to lift a scene out of the ordinary. In these images, the highlights take on a soft, glowing quality, while the shadows deepen into quiet pools of contrast. Ethereal Reverie began as an experiment in the Drakensberg in the early 2000s, using infrared film and later evolving through time spent in Namibia’s Kuiseb Canyon in 2013 and more recently in the Table Mountain National Park. Over the years, this series has evolved into an exploration of how trees, water, and light can merge into something that feels both familiar and yet otherworldly, particularly through the use of monochrome.
Ethereal Reverie No.5
Photographed in a forest on the slopes of Table Mountain just after the first winter rains, this pond emerges quietly among the trees. Infrared softened the dense growth, turning the leaves into delicate, luminous highlights.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Ethereal Reverie No.6
Photographed in the Kuiseb Canyon just after flood rains had swept through, leaving the river scattered with debris. Infrared rendering helped to calm the composition, softening the chaos into a more peaceful scene.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Ethereal Reverie No.2
Taken early in the morning in the Kuiseb Canyon, with sunlight streaming through the trees as gentle backlight. The use of infrared added a luminous, almost heavenly quality to the scene.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Ethereal Reverie No.1
The first image in the series was photographed in the Drakensberg in the early 2000s. Exposing for the ambient light turned the trees into strong, graphic silhouettes against the softer landscape.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Aura Collection
Created entirely in-camera, these artworks combine multiple exposures of the same subject taken from varying viewpoints. Subtle shifts in lens focus and zoom help to soften each impression, resulting in delicate, abstract layers that feel almost painterly. Inspired by the work of Pip Ventosa and by masters of the darkroom such as Jerry Uelsmann, who pioneered multi-image printing, the Aura series explores how repetition and variation can transform a familiar tree into something biomorphic and luminous. This approach, which I also teach during the Swellendam Art Retreat, allows each image to emanate with a quiet complexity that remains gentle and balanced on the eye.
Aura No.1
Photographed in the middle of an untended field on a farm near Stellenbosch, this solitary tree stood resilient against the elements. The location, set high on the foothills of the Helderberg Mountains, offered a striking backdrop of layered peaks and soft mist. A row of autumn-coloured trees in the distance contributed to the linear harmony of the composition, while the multiple exposures helped to create an almost dreamlike atmosphere.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Artist: Martin Osner | Archival pigment print on fine art paper | Edition: Limited to 15 prints (regardless of size)
Suggested Size: 141cm x 110cm / 55" x 43" — custom sizes available on request
Certificate: Hand-signed with a certificate of authenticity
Aura No.2
Photographed in a hidden valley near Swellendam, this lone tree is framed by the high encircling mountains that form a rhythmic pattern in the background. Using a 360-degree multiple exposure technique, I layered each viewpoint to create a softly textured impression that feels almost like a memory rather than a record.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Aura No.3
It’s not often that two elements side by side work harmoniously with this in-camera multiple exposure technique, but here, a 180-degree coverage with tightly zoomed layers came together beautifully. Light cloud cover softened the background and enriched the atmosphere, while the yellow and blue have been used as complementary colours to balance warmth and coolness within the composition.
Listing: View on our online gallery
Creation Collection
Artist: Martin Osner | Medium: Archival pigment print on fine art paper | Edition: Limited to 7 prints (regardless of size)
Suggested Size: 140cm x 107cm / 55" x 42" — custom sizes available on request
Certificate: Hand-signed with a certificate of authenticity
There are times when a photograph feels less like something you make and more like something you’re given. The Creation Series is exactly that—a body of work that unfolded almost by grace rather than effort. These four images were captured in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley after weeks of searching, waiting, and nearly giving up. One morning, a break in the clouds brought the softest light I’d ever seen, drifting across the trees with a quiet, ethereal glow. It felt as if the landscape had been holding back until the moment was right.
Creation No.1
Listing: View on our online gallery
Creation No.2
Listing: View on our online gallery
Creation No.3
Listing: View on our online gallery
Creation No.4
Listing: View on our online gallery
There are moments in an artist’s life that feel almost beyond explanation—when frustration, anticipation, and quiet faith finally converge. The Creation series was born in such a moment. After weeks of searching and countless days of grey skies, I found myself alone in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, ready to call it quits. Then, as if on cue, the clouds parted and a soft, otherworldly light transformed the landscape into something luminous. What followed was a few unforgettable hours of instinctive, emotional photography that I will never forget.
The Day Creation Was Unveiled
You May Also Like the Master Tree Series
If you enjoy ethereal landscapes and expressive, in-camera techniques, you might also like exploring the Master Tree Series. This collection focuses on the quiet presence and character of trees, photographed in a hidden valley near Swellendam using multiple exposures and natural light.
Every image here has been part of an ongoing search to express the feeling of a place rather than simply record it. Whether created through layered exposures, gentle movement, or the quiet patience of waiting for the right light, these photographs are intended as small invitations to pause and see familiar landscapes in a new way. Thank you for taking the time to explore this collection.
Suppose this body of work resonates with you and you’d like to learn how these techniques are taught in practice. In that case, you can find out more about the Swellendam Art & Photography Retreat—a deeply immersive creative experience held in the very valley where these photographs were made.
VISIT MARTIN'S ART GALLERIES
© 2025 Martin Osner Art. All Rights Reserved