By
Lauri Novak
Piece description from the artist
A single tree anchors the foreground with quiet authority, its exposed roots splaying across the shoreline like grasping fingers — tenacious, weathered, utterly committed to this particular patch of earth. Above, bare branches trace an intricate calligraphy against a brooding sky. Below, Buttermere Lake holds the clouds in perfect stillness, the water so calm it reads as a second sky, folded beneath the first.
Novak resists the postcard. Where another photographer might have stepped back to present the full panoramic sweep of one of England's most celebrated lakes, she moves in close, letting the tree dominate. It becomes a frame within the frame, a threshold. The mountains beyond — faint, layered, receding into mist — feel earned rather than given, glimpsed through a tangle of branches rather than simply displayed.
The tonal range here is exquisite. The gnarled root system, rich with texture and shadow, anchors the image in something earthly and tactile, while the mirror-flat lake dissolves into pure luminosity. The contrast between that rough, fibrous complexity at the base and the silken stillness of the water just inches away is the emotional core of the work — permanence beside transience, effort beside ease.
This is landscape photography operating at the register of portraiture. The tree is not scenery. It is the subject.
Lauri Novak is an award-winning fine art photographer, mentor and author based outside of Chicago. She has an eye for photographing architecture, traveling as much as possible and just wandering in nature with her camera.
Having grown up within an hour of one of the most architecturally rich cities sparked an interest in architecture early in her life that has been a recurring theme in her work over the years. The camera was ever-present in her life growing up in one form or another, including the many family vacation photos that were taken by her mother. Lauri received her first camera when she was ten. Since then the world has opened up to her through her view-finder and has brought into focus many of the details in life that are often overlooked.
Traveling was also a big part of her life. Her family went somewhere new every year which allowed Lauri to see different parts of the country, different cities and landscapes across the United States. This opened up so many opportunities for photographs and the wandering spirit which is part of who she is to this day. On her own, she traveled overseas and discovered different cultures, amazing historical architecture and the incredible beauty that is everywhere in this world. All the while capturing what she saw with her camera.
One of the questions Lauri is asked most often both by viewers of her work and other photographers is, “How did you see that?”. She works hard to show different perspectives, unique angles and the everyday details of a wide variety of subjects.
Lauri also has a passion for helping others, offers mentorships and runs an online SEE! Photography community for other photographers. She also shares her inspiration and motivational tips for photographers as an author at Photofocus.com.
Her work has been featured in Our USA Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Kane County Chronicle and on WGN-TV. She has had images in several galleries in Chicago, Minneapolis and as part of an international exhibition in Barcelona. Lauri’s work is displayed in hospitals, businesses and hotels around the world.
You can find more of her work at laurinovak.com
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