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…

 

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January 22, 2012

Churning Beauty, Jan 2012 by Gavin Seim. HWY 101, Oregon Coast.

One thing I love about the sea is the way it displays natural art with such simplicity. We traveled the 101 for a few hundred miles early on in our winter tour. With that came some bad weather and some moments of sweeping coastal beauty.

The line of beauty is something most experienced artists are familiar with. If not in name, then in practice. It’s that sort of sweeping S curve that comes from nature itself and is nearly always pleasing to the eye. That’s what really stuck me here. The entire coast with it’s waves rolling, is a series of sweeping curving lines. One has to wounder if Hogarth, the man recognized with making the line of beauty a known artistic element, looked out over these very shores.

The result of this days work is a square that showcases details of the ocean. Leaving much to imagination, but leading me thru the scene, reminding me how beautiful and powerful the water is. The passage of man means nothing to the sea. It simply moves on, rolling over the footprints and awaiting another day.

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

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August 2, 2011

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…

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July 10, 2011

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

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May 1, 2011

Golden Song - Shell Beach, California, April 2011

I’m right on the shore, the waves of the incoming tide lapping against the legs of my tripod, sometimes making me step back to keep my feet dry. The sun is just setting off to the right, casting an orange warmth on the largest of the rocks. The sky is simple, but it’s smooth, the gentle color soothing, and the lines and details on the rocks are mesmerizing in their intricacy.

California is a beautiful place. Due to its population and popularity, it always always the most east access, but if you get there and get settled it’s really breathtaking. There’s so much to see and so little time to get it done before rush hour.

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