April 25, 2013

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4x5, art study, beauty, color, f164, Fine Art, journal, National Park, Nature, signature

Sunset at the Celestial City – Grosvenor Arch, Utah

Grosvenor Arch - Utah - Gavin Seim_4
Sunset at the Celestial City – Grand Staircase National Monument Utah, Grosvenor Arch. Spring 2013, Gavin Seim

Grand Staircase is a secret hideaway of Utah – A grand place beyond most National Parks in beauty, in remoteness and in a wild hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. There is another wonder to behold with each new curve of it’s bumpy roads.

It’s not one of those parks you simply drive into on paved thoroughfares, hot dog carts lining the byways. We came in off HWY 89 and camped two nights within the park before we exited the other side. It was a slow winding gravel road with lots of hikes, pullouts and things to see, but no civilization except perhaps a bathroom here and there.

We made it up to the Arch late on our second day and waited for the sunset. The feature here was the double arch, but what struck me about this place was the way the entire structure stands alone out here. Columns of colorful rock sprouting from the ground in stunning display, set in a minimal non-dictating scene. It was a beautiful thing. It made me think of the distant view of the Celestial City from the classic novel, Pilgrim’s Progress.

As the sun set and the light danced on the rocks I knew I needed a panorama of this one. This was the last image I made as the light softened and fell behind the hill. It peeked from the clouds just before disappearing fully behind the horizon and left me in awe of creation.

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

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April 25, 2013

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art study, beauty, color, f164, Fine Art, journal, National Park, Nature, signature, technique

King Over the Thistles – White Sands New Mexico

The sun rising in White Sands NM, Spring 2013, Gavin Seim
The sun rising in White Sands NM, Spring 2013, Gavin Seim

Out here in white sands there’s not much for water or trees. So when you stand this tall, alone in the white, snow-like drifts of sand, you get to look down on the landscape. King of the shrubs, thistles and tiny creatures. Usurpers fallen at your feet.

The sun comes up each day throwing pastel beauty across this landscape, soon followed by harsh glaring light and waterless heat. But if you can stay standing, you might just become King of the Thistles.

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

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April 4, 2013

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art study, color, f164, Fine Art, Nature, signature, technique

Sedona Nights – The Cityscape, Sedona Arizona

Sedona Nights, Sedona AZ just after sunset – Gavin Seim, Spring 2013
Sedona Nights, Sedona AZ just after sunset – Gavin Seim, Spring 2013

We spend a good four or five days in Sedona before moving down the road. I must admit it’s a strange town, but it’s bedrock beauty is nothing to sneeze at. Breathtaking canyons and spires of rock inspire the artists and are at the same time a challenge to photograph really well as they are heavily photographer. Only the best light will do.

We went to the popular airport view for Sunset one night. I’m not sure I’ve even found a crowd so large to watch a sunset. There much have been 200 people there snapping away. I however just stood around with my view camera and chatted because the sunset was a bit flat. It was pretty and all, but to make a wall print we need something breathing.

The sun set and the crowds washed away. We loaded up and headed down the hill, But halfway down I look at the light of the city coming on and turned around, realizing I had just left the best behind me. I went back to the now empty viewing lot and had my pick of vantage points as the last light faded in the sky and Sedona Night came on.

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

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  • Coming Soon.

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March 16, 2013

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art study, color, f164, Fine Art, journal, musings, Nature, science, signature, technique, video

The American Pictorials Project – Year 5 of 10

The 40x40 master of Sliver Moon Blues on display at an exhibit last year.
The 40×40 master of Sliver Moon Blues on display at an exhibit last year.

by Gavin Seim: It’s now year 5 of a 10 year plan to build my American Pictorialist brand one day at a time. I thought I was setting out to take photos. Turns out there was much more I was after. I discovered what I really wanted was not pictures, but furniture. Grand prints that convey the majesty of creation. That’s easier said that done, but I feel Chroma and Silver galleries look better each year.

I got my first camera about 20 years ago now. It’s been a long road. But I may see a speck of light in the tunnel. It took mew a decade or so just realize that what I’m making is not pictures but fine furniture. To begin to really find my style. Something I hope to have mostly nailed down in the next three years both in my pictorials and my American Portraits which are something I don’t intend to give up. They are separate brands, but both have similar goals. Both are furniture for the wall.

The goals are starting to become more clear thanks to teachers like Ken Whitmire, painters of the past, history itself and many others who have shared their experience along the way. I’m learning that I have to focus. I have to remember what I’m trying to produce.

There’s lots of images being made and I don’t need to compete with that. I just need to make work I release as breathtaking as is possible. I’m getting to the stage where I know if the image is Signature worthy or just a nice snapshot before I press the shutter. Understanding that line has tuned out to be critical to my process.

Teaching has pushed me as well. Producing workshops like EXposed helped me see much better. What’s next is further refinement. Being more picky in the image making process as well as in the presentation. I’ve been focusing on slowing down for a few years now. I got into film and large format. I stopped making so many images and learned to focus on one whether it was a pictorial or a portrait.

But I think it’s time to take that further. By focusing on only releasing only 6-12 new pieces each year, the time spent on each will become flexible. Refinement and stunning presentation will be my focus and it takes a great deal of time to do that to my satisfaction – If I intend to stay sane I have to release less to make them more.

In recording the new Photographics Film I have been reminded that the elements that make a great photograph are not bound by one most import, but by a series of many including space, position, line, tone and presentation. If any one of these fails the image will often fail to be a stunning work of art and simply be a photo. I won’t forget that.

I am blessed and thankful that I can take my time. I just keep trying to move forward. In doing so I believe it will be better than I ever imagined when I picked up my first camera nearly 20 years ago. I had no idea where this would lead. Perhaps I still don’t. I still have 5 years to nail down the the American Pictorial. And if I don’t make that deadline, I’ll keep working.

Gavin Seim

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March 6, 2013

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4x5, beauty, f164, Fine Art, journal, line, National Park, Nature, signature, silver, technique

The Lost Oasis – Big Bend National Park, Film Collection

Lost Oasis - Texas
The Lost Oasis – Near the Hot Springs, Big Bend National Park, Texas 2012 – 4×5 film, Linhoff T IV

Warm memories, adventure and hints of times gone past. It took me awhile to finish this one because I liked it too much to do it quickly. This old store sits in the middle of the desert a few minutes walk from the Rio Grande, Mexico on the other side. Down the path a ten minute hike is the ruins of the old Hot Springs, self proclaimed healing waters that made this old resort an attraction.

Now it’s just a dusty path leading to the warm hot tub like foundation that still remains from the old bathhouse and is filled by naturally hot water. The whole family and I went down and we soaked together in the warm spring as a tiny Mexican village lumbered through the day across the river. There a lot of history in this old place and it’s memories are just a little haunting, especially when the tourists disappear for the day and the solitude of morning or evening take over the silent stones.

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.

Released prints….

 

Down past the old buildings and to the ruins of the old hot springs building. It's remaining foundation makes it like a hot tub in the middle of the desert. The family and I enjoyed it - This is Cyrus, Asher, Ana and my wife, Sondra.
Notes Snapshot: Down past the old buildings lie the ruins of the old hot springs building. It’s remaining foundation makes it like a hot tub in the middle of the desert. The family and I enjoyed it – This is Cyrus, Asher, Ana and my wife, Sondra.

 

For Photographers. How it was made…

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