August 8, 2010

2

f164, journal

Silver Waves of Grain:

  • 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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October 30, 2009

0

news, ProPhotoShow, workshop

The first HDR workshop is finished.

HDR_Workshop_001-2

I just hosted the first “Incredible HDR” photo workshop in Central Washington. It was an intimate three day class of six, with attendees from as far as London, so we had plenty of one on one time. The images they made were amazing. I’m really proud of the students and the creative results produced during the workshop. We covered everything from how to capture HDR portraits, to final edits, controlling light and presentation.

I believe one of the most important parts of good HDR is knowing how to edit it. There’s a lot of really ugly HDR because photographers don’t understand what their dealing with and how to make something magical from it. Going further however I want to remind those playing with HDR that the rules of photography do not go away because a photo is HDR. Interesting subject matter, composition and attention to detail are all very important factors in a great image. The students at this workshop were from varied experience levels but I think every one of them got it and took home something valuable.

I’ll post images from students below as well as a few of my own I took during excursions. It seems every time I teach something, I learn something new myself. If you’re interested in learning more about the Incredible HDR workshop check it out here.

HDR_Workshop_003

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May 10, 2009

1

f164, Fine Art, Nature

Imperfection. Yellow Flowers:

Photography is about light and how we see that light. I took these last weekend using a Lensbaby which is a selective focus manual lens (a tilt shift look, for those who know what that means). The result is a little imperfect and not as clear as the expensive lenses I often use. It’s not for everything, but used at the right time it can be effective. This flower was not at it’s prime, but because of that it stood apart from it’s nearly perfect brothers and sisters. It took  my attention and in the end was my favorite of the group. Imperfect, but not unseen.

These flowers (Arrow-leaved Balsamroot I believe) are everywhere this time of year. Bringing focus on just one, instead of the many, keeps the eye on the beauty and not on the crowd, while still knowing the crowd exists. This starts in camera, but does not end there. Even in the film days photographers worked with their images to put the attention where they wanted it.

Just to illustrate the power of the edit, I’m posting one of the plain uncorrected images next to the final version below. In this case basic correction, then one of my effects and plenty of burning and dodging (lightening and darkening certain areas on the image) brought of the depth and made the flowers stand out the way I intended. For you photography lover I’ll post a before and after to show the processing… Gav

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May 5, 2009

1

beauty, color, f164, Fine Art

The Whispering Barn:

The Whispering Barn - 2009, Gavin Seim. Central WA.

I’ve driven by this old barn a hundred times. It’s a few miles down St. Andrews RD, above Coulee City. It always caught my eye, standing resolute and solitary. But I didn’t finally photograph it till spring of 2009. I’m glad I did because shortly after the view was completely altered, with new fences and other work in front of the barn. It was a peaceful place, silent as the sun set over the farmlands and the light sank down behind distant hills.

Release Details: Prints Currently available… Contact Gavin for details.
24×40 inch signature canvas limited edition  |||  24 inch open edition print.

For Photographers…

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January 31, 2009

2

f164, Fine Art, Nature

Winter Solitude: A Washington Sunset

This is my masterpiece of the week. It’s from last Sunday’s drive and was taken overlooking the Columbia river just off Manilla Creek Road. (Here’s the coordinates on the map). You can click the picture for a bigger view.

I did this with two, three shot HDR images of the scene stitched together as a panorama. The view  was amazing. We stopped here earlier in the day, so I knew it had potential. We moved on, but at sunset came back for the shoot.

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