January 2, 2012

2

4x5, beauty, f164, Fine Art, journal, science, silver, technique, travel

Isabella Breeze – My First Ever 4×5 Scene.

Isabella Breeze. Lake Isabella CA. Spring 2011. Linhof 4x5.

This has been sitting for the summer, but as we start traveling once again for 3 months of road touring, I decided it was worth posting.  It’s my very first 4×5 exposure. Well, not including the accidental frame I ruined because I forgot to shut the lens. 4×5 film is something I’ve spent 2011 falling in love with. This frame is imperfect, but I wanted to share because I never want to forget the feeling it gave me. A sense of wonder at the sheer simple function, yet inspiring complexity and quality of the large format medium. It’s an operation that by it’s very nature forces one to slow down, to think and to visualize.

I stood right on the shore of Lake Isabella, almost at the water line at sunset on this early Spring day in 2011. It’s actually the very one I talked about on the drive back, during this Episode of the Photo Couch podcast. It’s was a calm relaxing sunset on the edge is this beautiful lake and it felt good. Once the sun had faded I packed up and drove to the other end of the lake where we had camped the trailer on the shore. Where kids and my beautiful wife were waiting with a hot spaghetti dinner.

For Photographers… 

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December 14, 2011

0

f164, science, silver, technique

Dynamic & Tonal Range in the RAW File.

Right cut. Original RAW file desaturated in LR. Left cut, same file with the Dynamic Silver III preset from Silver Shadows 2 applied in LR.

Just a few quick observations today. One reason I stay in a RAW as long as possible is that quality and dynamic tonal control is at it’s highest on an original RAW file. Once we leave that environment, we can certainly still work with tonal values, but we throw away some of that precious information.

On the right is a sharpened and desaturated original file from Sunset’s Hidden Falls. On the left, the same file with nothing more than applying Dynamic Silver III from my new Silver Shadows 2 toolkit. This effect pulls out dynamic range without flattening the shadow and contrast too much. It could also be done manually of course.

Once I have the dynamic range under control, then I’ll move on to external edits as needed. I don’t hesitate to go into Photoshop (though I try to stay in 16bit mode) for detail work. I did plenty of that on the final version of this). But getting my basic tonal range managed before I leave the RAW file behind gives me better results and helps me maintain that quality as high as possible for my wall prints. It’s a better wokflow and a better image.

Gav

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October 25, 2011

0

beauty, f164, Fine Art, National Park, Nature, signature, silver

Song of a Dreary Day – Mount Rainier National Park

Song of a Dreary Day - Upper Tipsoo Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Sept 2011, by Gavin Seim.

Mountains are something that never quite grow old. But they don’t always cooperate with my whims. Clouds and mists and empty skies,this was one of those days. Sort of.

We headed up the mountain around sunset. A group of photographers and I were out camping that weekend for an event I had organized. I was hoping for one of those radiant late summer sunsets, but not today. Oh, it’s beautiful and peaceful and all, but that does not mean the light was doing exactly what I wanted.

Still, even on the days that seem less than perfect, there is light. Light that has a subtle beauty all it’s own, especially if you catch it at the right time. Well, there was light on those peaks, and there were even dramatic clouds mixed in with that sky that at a glance appeared a bit boring. They kept peeking out as they blew past the peaks, and I waited for them. I think there was a song in that light after all.

Release details: Prints available. Contact the gallery. Learn more about prices. Available prints…

 

For photographers. How it was made…

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August 2, 2011

0

beauty, f164, Fine Art, hogarths, journal, line, musings, signature, silver, technique

The Whispering Brook – Olympic Rainforest

The Whispering Brook, Olympic Forest, below Dosewallips Falls. Gavin Seim, Summer 2011

The water of the rainforest always seems to be moving,. Running, drizzling and dancing over the ground. Dosewallips falls rolls down a face of stone into the gathering pools below, overflowing them and running on towards into the deep forest, making a journey to the larger streams and rivers, then finally to the sea. It’s a mesmerizing dance of water set in one of the most beautiful places and is something to stop and look closer at.

We spent the past few days in the Olympic forest and as beautiful as the it is, I find it can be complicated. There’s so much to see that it can be a challenge to covey simple beauty in a single frame. Part of that challenge is deciding what element best conveys the feeling the the place when the image is initially made.

I found myself looking closely at the stream below the falls, all the rocks and paths the water had made. But I stopped in this one. It’s shape and line telling a story of waters journey in a simple scene. There’s a lot of little details here, but you have to take the time to look for them. It’s simple, but complex in it’s own way and as always, I am mesmerized the the subtle complexity and beauty of creation.

Release details: Prints available. Contact the gallery. Learn more about prices. Available prints…

For photographers. How it was made…

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July 10, 2011

0

f164, Fine Art, Nature, signature, silver, technique, travel

Trilogy of the Surf.

Trilogy of the Surf, by Gavin Seim. May 2011, on CA 1. Triptych print release pending. View the larger images below.

The Pacific Ocean mesmerized me as we drove, trailer in tow, along Route 1 this Spring. It’s so vast, an endless expanse peeking through the passing trees. I spotted a large pull-off along the winding highway, so we stopped for the view and a trailer break. Cyrus and I looked over the edge, seeing the waves strike against the rocks below. Soon I found myself setting up, adjusting the composition and then capturing frame after frame. I was entranced at how each and every image could be so similar and yet so different, the patterns and tones of water combining in endless ways along the rock, though all going to the same place.

Normally, I’m all about a single frame, but it was too little here. Sometimes I break my own rules, and, after a lot of consideration, I really felt this sequence worked. I spent hours finalizing which final images would go into it, and how I could best present them. Then weeks went by as I rethought, making sure I could do nothing to make it better. I’ve also made some test prints, and I plan to release it as a single triptych print and perhaps a few as three separate images (kept together, of course).

Due to the computer’s insufficiency at conveying a wide image, I’m also adding the individual frames from the sequence below so you can take in a bit more detail. Just bear in mind; they will be presented as the triptych above, not separated by themselves. I hope these waves mesmerize you as much as they do me. Enjoy…

Gav

See all three images lather and read details…

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