August 20, 2012

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4x5, beauty, color, f164, Fine Art, Nature, technique, travel

Winters End – Solder Summit Utah

Winters End – Solder Summit Utah, Early Spring

What a beautiful place to spend the morning with my son. It was mid April and in the mountains of Utah there were still dotted with snow. We camped off Sheep Creek Road the previous night and I went out early with my son to Solder Summit.

I made this on my large format system in the Utah mountains. I had seen all this beautiful color the day before and was amazed by how vibrant it was. We’re used to seeing such colors in the Fall. But Spring was just coming in and still the color sang in the Utah hills. I love this State.

I love Aspens too. No matter when you look at them they’re stunning. My 4 year old and I discovered this remote spot filled with color and lots of bare Aspen groves, just as the sun was streaking across the hills. The sky was blue and the snows were melting. Afterward we stopped an a little gas station on the summit and bought snacks before heading back to the trailer and the rest of the family for a peaceful afternoon drive into Salt Lake.

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July 10, 2012

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4x5, f164, Fine Art, journal, Nature, science, signature, silver, technique, travel

Ghostlands

Ghostlands – Eastern OR, Spring 2012.

It was towards the end of our Winter 2012 your. More like Spring as it was late already early May. But we were still on the road and winding thru the nearly deserted back country of Oregon towards home. These are hills and forest where you find a tiny town every hundred miles or more and if you’re lucky it might have gas and groceries.

I saw this neat old house turned store turned abandoned farm off of the highway and turned the truck around in a truly tiny town a mile or so down the road. I returned and setup my for large format film, using the height of our camper roof to get me a high vantage point.

I must have taken at least a half and hour setting up for a single frame of film. When I finally had it composed just the way I wanted I waited for the late afternoon sun to peek through just right and release the shutter. The light and shadows were magic and the result is exactly what I had hoped for. Ghostlands.

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.. Learn about Limited Edition values here.

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July 10, 2012

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beauty, color, f164, Fine Art, journal, Nature, signature, technique, travel

The Dreamers Tree

Dreamers Tree. Near Yuma Arizona, winter 2012.

I found this back near Yuma during our Winter tour and I took my time on it. It’s a perfect scene for a relaxing afternoon, but it has just a bit of mystery thrown in too. We were taking a Sunday evening drive and the tree was just off the road. But had the light not been hitting it just right, I would have passed it right over.

I frantically turned the truck around and was able setup my tripod and photograph it before the light faded behind the hills. I think I could go back and almost lie in it’s threading braced and fall asleep. But the question is, would it eat me?

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June 29, 2012

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

The Giants Court – Carlsbad Caverns NM.

The Giants Court – Carlsbad Caverns NP, New Mexico, 2012

I’ve spent three days at 750 feet below the surface, photographing in the dim light with digital and film. It’s truly awe inspiring and it was one of most challenging subjects I’ve worked with and not for lack of beauty or interest, but perhaps for to much of it.

A subterranean wonderland that’s a challenge to capture in a natural sense, since natural here is total darkness. The artificial lights here have been beautifully done and you rarely see a cord or a bulb, but they are low and were designed for seeing with the eyes more than seeing on film.

It was breathtaking. One day I hiked out the natural exit, packing all my gear all the way to the top rather than use then subterranean elevator. I’ll admit it was more than I bargained, but a stunning hike and a great exercise.

Behold! The Hall of Giants! Perhaps my favorite place in the caverns. It’s Stalagmite columns like towering kings watching over the royal court. It took some time and study to gain a grasp on how this beauty beneath should be best captured, but I feel I’ve in part conveyed that feeling I had as I stood, looking on in awe.

 

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.. Learn about limited edition prices here.

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June 19, 2012

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color, f164, journal, Nature, travel

First Flight – The Gliding Saga, Utah

First Flight - Sondra's first ride with Steve. In a tandem over the hills of Lehi Utah. She came back grinning ear to ear.

It was Spring by the time we hit the last leg of our 2012 winter tour. We stopped in the Salt Lake area and parked overnight at Cabelas in Salt Lake City. Sondra went shopping the next day and I went hunting for a part I needed for the Super Camper. On the way I noticed a kite shop called Cloud 9. Since I had been wanting a stunt kite to carry along, I decided to stop in. Inside I did find a neat little stunt kite and took it with me. But I also found something more. I discovered Paragliding.

I’ve always wanted to fly and just the possibility of an affordable means to do so, using a wing compact enough to fit in a backpack, got me excited fast. I decided to take a tandem flight with an instructor the next day for about a hundred dollars. I wanted fly and I did. It was breathtaking. I thought it would be scary. It was, but only till Steve and I took off. Once I realized I was floating in the sky, suspended as from a cloud, I was instantly hooked.

Back at the trailer I praised the flight, telling my wife how amazing it was. I told her it was not that same fear as being afraid of heights, because once you’re up there you don’t feel at all unstable. You have control, can glide, gain altitude and land at your pleasure. Sondra started getting annoyed because I kept going on about it. She told me she WAS NOT going to fly. So,  good and kind husband that I am,  I said OK and shut up about it ;). Soon we headed down the road towards Nevada and I let it go, simply saying I might still have to learn on my own.

That night we camped by the Bonneville Salt Flats. In the evening after some him-hawing around, Sondra suggested that maybe she should give it a try. I laughed at her, but it was a good laugh. The next day we booked her a tandem for that evening and drove all the way back to the training hill outside of Salt Lake City. Sondra flew and when she landed she was grinning, giddy and could not stop telling me how much she she now wanted a paraglider of her own. It was so cool to watch her.

We were both hooked now. The ability to carry a wing with us on our travels, soaring and photographing. Even the ability to add a small motor if need be, to go to areas where wind currents might not favor us. There’s more to it than that of course and we plan to learn about that soon because now that we’re home, we can’t wait to get back down there and get certified. That’s something we hope to do later this year. It costs about a thousand dollars plus gear. So for now we just watch videos, look at photos and dream of free flight. Both of us.

With that I better get back to work, pay some bills and make some prints, because we want to go flying. Soon… Gav

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