March 16, 2013

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 4, 2012

The Skinny Kid by Gavin Seim. Joshua Tree NP, Feb 2012

The family and I camped down on the flatland’s and took a nice drive into Joshua Tree that day. It was warm, but got cooler in the highlands and the choice to wear shorts turned out less than ideal. So the family was back in the car warming up after hiking and I ventured out near Skull Rock, finding this skinny little Joshua Tree standing alone, everyone ignoring it’s simplicity.

The Skinny Kid grew on me and soon I was experimenting with angles and ideas for how to best showcase what he had to offer. In the end this simple black and white scene struck me. A starkness of line. A cast shadow showing that his reach extends beyond his size. This tree has a perfect vantage. He gets to watch over this rocky landscape without distraction and reign as King of it’s trees.

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

 

For Photographers. How it was made…

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December 10, 2010

Tufa Sunrise. Mono Lake CA. 15×34.5 True Metal – Read Journal Entry.
25 print Limited Edition. $329, including US Shipping.

[EJUNKIE_ADD2CART item=”p11104″] [EJUNKIE_VIEWCART]

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October 9, 2010

Tufa Sunrise. Mono Lake CA, Fall 2010, by Gavin Seim.

Gavin’s Journal Entry, 10/2010.

We camped overlooking Mono lake last night. I think it’s rather a bad name for a lake, but it’s no less beautiful for that. I got there early, before the light. But the stone sang when the rays of first dawn hit the limestone Tufa Towers that grace the these muddy banks.

I won’t try to explain how they’re formed (there is some info on the Mono Lake website) but I can say is that creation is indeed breathtaking. Now that I have time to stop and look at this sunrise, it seems even more so. This may be the only great image I took home from Mono Lake, but it’s just what I wanted and I’m really excited about it.

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

[EXPAND SEE the details up close. Click to expand…]

These are not separately available images. They are detail cuts from the above work, to show the detail and most notible elements that will stand out in the finished print.

Tufa Sunrise - Detail1
The central display of Tufa Towers, revealed in a fleeting moment of morning light just as the sun crosses the horizon.

 

Tufa Sunrise - Detail2
Sharp from edge to edge. The rocks point to the snow capped mountains, revealing the coming Winter.
Tufa Sunrise - Detail3
The superb detail in the flowing grasses reflects the golden light and is spectacular, especially in larger sizes.
Tufa Sunrise - Detail4
The morning light shows a supporting cast of towers in various stages of illumination.

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For Photographers. How it was made…

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August 8, 2010

  • Silver Waves of Grain. | Near Moses Coulee in Central WA | This image is available in print.

Making landscapes comes with the privilege being able to focus on one subject. Unlike with a wedding, where I need capture a multitude of stunning images, the goal with fine art is a single frame. Lately I’ve been focusing on the idea of a large effort going towards the single frame. Sometimes the more work it takes, the more pride I feel for the piece.

I am satisfied with this and it will probably appear in my Signature Collection as a 30-40 inch piece. That does not happen every time I go out, so I’m happy. It’s a simple landscape, yet it embodies northwest farming without clutter or distraction and does so in a way that I think in unique, the sea of blurred grain surrounding the lone family of grain bins which will soon have their bellies filled with the very ocean that surrounds them.

For Photographers. How it was made…

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