video Archives

May 17, 2013

Video: Selling Wall Art – Photos as Art Decor

Gavin Seim and Ken Whitmire — Gavin with Ken Whitmire, the Ansel Adams of wall portraits at WPC 2013.

– This video was initially posted for our newsletter subscribers. It is now public. You can get future goodies by subscribing to the newsletter below –

Are You Selling Better?

Here’s our special Seim Effects video for May 2013. I just returned from a week at Wall Portrait Conference. It’s my 5th year and the principles I learned here changed my entire career. I wanted to record a quick overview of ideas while it”s fresh in my mind. To share a bit of what I have learned and what I plan to apply further this year as I sell more wall prints.

These ideas come from hundreds of years of combined experience. I am not the master of marketing, but I have seen these principles work when applied correctly. I barley scratch the surface here, but here’s hoping this video will get you inspired to raise the bar and go further. I hope to see you at a future Wall Portrait Conference.

Gavin Seim

Want to learn more about using light and making images for walls? Check out my complete films including EXposed, a workshop about all things light and exposure. Also take a look at PHOTOGRAPHICS. My new film on Art, History and Photographic Craft. You can pre-order it now and save.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”newsletter”]

March 31, 2013

f164, journal, travel, video

PAPERS PLEASE: Photographer & Family Detained – Because of the Constitution – VIDEO

UPDATE: YouTube Removed our original video offering the reason that it’s content was “inappropriate”. It has been re-posted to Vimeo, Facebook and YouTube.

by Gavin Seim: I am an American. I will travel my highways freely – I will work protect my family from assault and intimidation by criminals, be they badged or a hooded – I am American – I will speak freely, move freely, worship freely and take a stand to keep my children free – I refuse to comply. Why? Because my government has no right to stop us on the road without cause. I’m standing up for freedom before we lose it and I believe everyone should do the same.

This is one of those that we experienced yesterday while on the 2013 Early Tour. Sondra always records our encounters. If she didn’t these might end differently.

I don’t say American Pictorialist for nothing. I love Jesus, freedom and the Constitution. and I’ve had enough with armed guards trying to take that away. I make no secret about my values and I can be pretty adamant. This is America and people have a right to disagree with me. But when it comes to my government and the US Constitution I have little wiggle room.

These Border Patrol road block checkpoints dot the Southwest on public highways and interstates. They are not border crossings of any kind. In fact this one is about 80 miles inland. They stop innocent people without cause to question them. Papers, Please!

This is in direct violation with the constitution and we need to stand up. I don’t give them respect because their “just doing their job”. They are thugs the moment they violate our rights. I do not cooperate. It’s not so much about the questions being asked. It’s about freedom. The moment they said I was being detailed they broke the law. The Border Patrol has a tough job, but bullying free citizens does not earn them respect.

This is not Nazi Germany. My government does not have the right to stop and question me in the middle of the road without cause. I don’t care what crooked judges or made up laws say. The highest law of this land is the Constitution. Many died so I could have freedom. I won’t dishonor them by refusing to stand up for that freedom.

To those who feel I simply disrespect authority or that I’m just making a fuss about nothing. Consider that we live in a nation where some Border Agents go to prison because their do their job. But when they detain, intimidate and even arrest citizens driving their own highways it’s accepted. That is tyranny my friends.

Free nations do not force their citizens to stop in the road and be questioned folks. Not at all. In America the government does not get permission to stop and detain us with cause. Not for ANY reason. The moment they do they are criminals and should be treated the same as any other criminal.

Our Border Patrol has done far worse. They harass and detain visitors to our country without cause. The beat and arrest Americans for doing things like I just did. The list goes on. These people say they are stopping terrorists. I say they are the terrorists. This is not freedom folks. This is tyranny.

I should note: Sometimes people believe that I pick fights because I just like to make trouble.

The truth is that my stomach is in knots every time I pull up to one of those. It feels good to take a stand. But I can’t say I like being the guy to do it. It would not take many rising against these checkpoint to render them useless. If we all refused to answer, held up the line and stood up for our freedom, the Federals would likely back off.

This is the America you live in. What are you going to do about it?

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” – Benjamin Franklin

It’s Easter. A day of freedom. I am Gavin Seim and I would be free.

____

The Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

March 16, 2013

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

November 29, 2012

4x5, f164, journal, musings, science, technique, video

Gavin Seim on Wet Scanning 4×5 Film Using His Epson V700.

Those of you that follow my work know that I love working with 4×5 large format film. I still use digital, but 4×5 scans blow it away in terms of detail for my wall prints. More about why I love film in this article.

Today, I made a “quick video” looking at how I prepare images for wet scanning using my Epson V700. The V700 is not sold as a wet scanner. Epson wants you to buy the V750 for that. But the truth is the scanners are the same in nearly every area other than the wet attachments. To top it off, the wet scan upgrade from BetterScanning is said to be better than the stock one that comes with the V750.

Why Wet? Think about your car when you’ve just washed it – When it’s wet the scratches are less visible and everything looks pretty and shiny. Wet scanning has a similar effect. The film is suspended in liquid, which helps reduces small dust and scratches. Furthermore it gives me optical clarity that is not impeded by the surface of the dry film. That produces a better contrast and more detail – There’s an interesting discussion on this topic here.

My process works well and the resulting images go into Lightroom and Photoshop for final details. I have had drum scans done and plan to use them, in time, for VERY large prints in the 100 inch plus range. In my experience a good drum scan (which can easily cost over $100) is better than my Epson wet scans but probably by only 10-15%, so unless I am making a giant print it’s not an issue, even for a quality fanatic like me.

Other Tools: I use Silver Fast scanning software instead of the default Epson software most of the time. In general I find it’s very powerful. Silver Fast support is a bit lacking, but it’s a bit like a Photoshop for scanning and gives lots of control. That said you can get great wet scans with the default software. I use Kami fluid to mount with. It works well and goes a long way. Here’s the rubber roller and I like Purosol and Kimwipes for keeping all my glass clean. I use Duralar sheets to sandwich the negative between fluid and glass. A DataVac is good for serious air and these awesome craft tweezers make picking up the film a snap.

Film is not easy. But it’s coming back because it’s very rewarding and results in stunning, unique images loaded with detail, especially from the larger formats. Here’s a couple recent images I did on 4×5. Of course if you come to my gallery sometime, you’ll be able see the detail in all it’s glory – Enjoy, Gav

Ghostlands – Eastern OR – 4×5 HP400 Film. Full details here.

November 1, 2012

Free Effects & Goodies, inspire, special effects, video, workshop

3 FREE Videos About Understanding Light and Exposure.

My EXposed workshop came out this summer and has been a rousing success. It’s the best work I’ve ever done and I’m thrilled that it’s really changing how people understand and use their light. It’s full of game changing stuff.

Many of you already have EXposed, but for those who don’t I wanted to share. I posted three free excerpts from EXposed, looking at some powerful tools like the Zone System, directing light and more.

Be warned though. Once you see how useful the things we’re studying here are, you’ll probably want the entire series. You can get that too, as a download or DVD on the right here on Seim Effects.

Enjoy, Gavin

Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]

First

Last