Posts from ‘Photography’
If you’re a nature photographer, passionate about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and its myriad habitats, rivers and lakes, valleys, canyons, geysers~~~and Yellowstone’s quintessential light, you undoubtedly know the photography of Edward Riddell. This fall, Riddell will take a limited number of students to Yellowstone, America’s first national park, for four full days of shooting. Dates are September 26-29th, 2013; an optional fifth day is September 30th. Riddell’s fall “Magic of Yellowstone” photography expedition accepts no more than 16 students; the experience is personal, thorough, exciting~~and most importantly, professional.
Riddell’s co-instructor, Jon Stuart, was an assistant at the Ansel Adams workshops in Yosemite in the 70′s. Ed and Jon have been teaching workshops in Yellowstone and the Tetons together for more than 35 years. Most recently Jon was Director of Photography and Exhibits at the Art Association. Jon and Ed have different photographic styles enabling students to learn different ways of “seeing” the same scenes.
Riddell’s love of nature began when, as a college graduate, he landed a job as a ranger-naturalist in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. He began working on photography projects for the Park and developed an interpretive photography program. Over the years Riddell has garnered national and international recognition for his photography, and for his role as founder of Riddell Advertising. For 23 years he ran one of the region’s most successful agencies with his wife, graphic designer and painter Lee Carlman Riddell. He has never ceased photographing; his work is inspired by Adams, Strand, Weston, Bullock and Cunningham. Based in the Yellowstone region since he first arrived, Riddell is arguably the photographer closest to its grandeur and nuances.
No experience is necessary to take part in this workshop; the only prerequisite is the desire to immerse yourself. Reservations are made on a first come-first serve basis. Tuition is $1,250 per student; an additional day is $250.
Edward Riddell
Participants will meet in Jackson at a predetermined location and carpool into Yellowstone. Those not driving are encouraged to reimburse drivers for expenses. Students are responsible for their own meals and lodging in Yellowstone National Park; Riddell provides full information upon registration, enabling students to make reservations at Yellowstone lodgings. Rooms in Yellowstone fill quickly, and it is highly recommended you book your workshop reservation as soon as possible.Â
A $625 non-refundable deposit reserves a spot in class; the balance is due by September 1st, 2013. If you opt for the additional fifth workshop day—and you may well wish to!—this fee must also be paid in advance.
Photo credits: All images of Yellowstone by Edward Riddell
For information, contact Ed Riddell via email:  ed@edwardriddell.com.  Telephone: 307-733-8093/ cell:  307-690-3980. Website: http://www.riddellphotoworkshops.com, where you can find further details—including daily itineraries—on Riddell’s workshops. Participants may register for the class on line.  To learn even more about Edward Riddell, visit http://www.edwardriddell.com .
Portal Tracs.187U – Rocky Hawkins
An artist’s work is particularly powerful when it embraces the other side of what many consider real time and space. Communication and reverence for supernatural beings is at the heart of life. Sometimes, the human form itself is transformed, becoming divine and omnipotent.
To me, Rocky Hawkins’ paintings explore the intersection between heaven and earth. His figures are spirits, simultaneously sending and absorbing messages. Composed with brushes and palette knives, Hawkins’ paintings constantly explore new spaces and concepts. His latest body of work, on exhibition at Altamira Fine Art through June 30th, includes large and small-scale works. In each painting Hawkins delves ever deeper into abstraction using bold strokes, a full array of color and superb composition.
“Sky Dance Rider” – Rocky Hawkins.
The primary focus of these new works is a group of paintings—the “Portal Tracs” series. In each work Hawkins depicts rectangular shapes representing gateways into another dimension. Time is fluid. Geometric fields overlap and intersect, distinct but amorphous. It is Hawkins’ broad spaces—a vast universe—painted in above his figures that draw the viewer in. We are pulled towards clusters of riders, grouped and solitary figures. As you move through the exhibit, notice Hawkins’ use of numbers and letters in his titles. Each letter —T, R, A, C and S—refers to a form visible within the painting. The letters, together, spell “tracs.” I will tell you about the “U” shape, turned towards the heavens and connected to figures’ heads: it represents the unknown, and it reaches out “like an antenna, ready to receive new experience.”
“Portal Tracs.385U” – Rocky Hawkins
Hawkins’ palette runs the gamut from electric to earthy. Every choice is correct. In this grouping of works there is something for everyone. The smallest canvases I saw measured 6 x 8″. These make wonderful collection starters and are as intensely wrought as Hawkins’ large canvases. “Portal Tracs.923U” measures 60 x 48″.
Hawkins also revisits his “Archer” and “Horse and Rider” series themes. They are as bold, sacred and intriguing as ever, and Hawkins is a master at depicting points of tension amidst rich, painterly strokes of color. As has been said, Hawkins is an artist choosing not to stay in one place for too long. www.altamiraart.com
Image by Taylor Glenn
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
On Sunday, May 12th, National Geographic photographer Wade Davis makes an appearance at Jackson’s first annual Mountain Story Festival, courtesy of the Murie Center. There’s no getting away from the fact that climbing treacherous, challenging peaks here—and anywhere in the world—is a huge part of our culture. Climbers take in the outdoors in a mind-bending way. The closest I’ve come to being that high, with a few thousand feet between me and flat ground is the year I skydived, on a dare, at college. I’d do that again before I’d climb the Grand or any other giant, jagged, craggy mountain!
Others have infinitely more guts. These extreme personalities can’t keep themselves from climbing; they climb in their sleep. Which is why Davis’ talk on his new book “Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest” should be packed. Mothers, be warned! Content may be nerve racking!  7:00 pm start, Pink Garter Theater, downtown Jackson.
Wednesday, May 15th, the Murie Center’s Mardy’s Conservation Collection Book Club meets to discuss the Murie’s book, Wapiti Wilderness.
“In this autobiographical tale…Olaus and Mardy describe their life together, raising a family in the mountainous wilderness of the Tetons, while Olaus worked for the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey,” says the Center. The gathering takes place at the the Murie’s original home, Murie Ranch, in Moose, WY, at 6:30 pm. Lively discussion, reflection and inspiration are a promise. Â www.muriecenter.org.
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The Grand Teton Association (GTA) has announced its line-up of plein air artists for this summer’s “Artists in the Environment” (AIE) series, taking place the second Saturday of every month, June – September, in Grand Teton National Park(GTNP). Each of those weekends, regional plein air painters provide free painting demonstrations at locations throughout GTNP.  Founded by the late, great plein air artists Greg McHuron and Conrad Schwiering, the program has offered countless visitors and art lovers a free chance to see artists capturing the beauty surrounding us.
I have a personal passion for this program~~I believe the history of plein air painting in this valley, and in the Greater Yellowstone Region, is one of America’s most important art history stories. Its tradition is unbreakable; the artists’ bonds are like steel.
For fifty years, the GTA has celebrated GTNP via the arts. All proceeds realized by the GTA serve to broaden education, research and interpretation of GTNP.
Times and locations are TBA, but participating artists for 2013 are: Â Dwayne Harty – June 15th; Â Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters & Co., – July 13th; Wendell Field - August 10th; Â and Fred Kingwill - September 14th. Â More on all these artists as summer progresses!
Travis Walker, Abbie Miller, Tony Birkholz, Kelly Halpin and Todd Williams (who divides his time between NYC and Jackson Hole) presented their work and perspectives at March 27th’s Culture Front, hosted by Meg Daly. The evening was fascinating not only because of the art we viewed, but because of the ensuing conversation.
The evening’s topic was interpreting the West. How did  young contemporary Jackson artists experience what it is to live here? How are their observations and emotions materializing in their art? I, in my relatively elder-generation way, expected context—a discussion and comparisons. I wondered how the artists made the leap from absorbing Western representational history to transmitting in a contemporary manner. After Walker, Miller, Birkholz, Halpin and Williams made their presentations, Q&A commenced.
“I’d like the artists to talk about the West,” said one audience member.
I remember thinking the same thing, but I recognize that “talking about the West,” for this generation entails a different vernacular. As all new art generations do. Culture Front’s format is liquid; discussions can and do “fan out.” In more formal settings a presentation’s format is set, the program specific. Two different flows, both enriching.
Abbie Miller’s art is greatly influenced by her east coast and mid-western art schools; her talk focused on those early projects. Perhaps her most “Western” art product is her giant red vinyl piece, “Squeezed Arch,” which resembles Utah’s desert landscape. But Abbie’s roots here run deep; she is a product of our West.
For some, the West is a little short on milk and honey. It can be frightening and unexpected; buffalo are slaughtered, forests succumb to fire and invasive insects, wolves are shot and moose run over. Wildlife collides with mankind, people plummet from the peaks. Ultimately, this place is indescribably beautiful. Our involvement and caring about injustices and environmental imbalance is part of that. The West is “free” in spirit–we come here to throw off  the shackles from our early lives, from the city, from wherever. We have unmatched space, but overcoming the inevitable struggle to survive is difficult. We’re trying everything we can think of. Three local artists with arts day jobs have opened their own space elsewhere in order to bring messages from non-Western cultural centers to Jackson Hole. Artists share space and split up again.
David Brookover - Kilate - Silver Gelatin Print
Andalusian horses originated in the Spanish Iberian Peninsula Province of Andalusia, and they are an ancient, noble breed. Those knowledgable about these magnificent creatures note they have lived in that region since “pre-history,” and were depicted in cave paintings as far back as 25,000 years ago. Carthusian Monks bred Andalusians in Middle Age monasteries, and the horses became prized by royalty down through the ages. I’ve read that there are only about 8,000 Andalusians in this country; less than 30,000 world wide.
Jackson photographer David Brookover, having missed photographing horses, decided to go find some Andalusians and recommence photographing one of his favorite animals. A connection in Aiken, South Carolina, hooked him up.
“They’re royal, rare and just beautiful,” says Brookover. “Once the idea entered my mind to photograph these incredible creatures there was no letting it go. I wanted to shoot them, and make silver gelatin prints of these animals. I took “Kilate” right at the last light; I knew that with the contrast any trees would go dark. The contrast is spectacular.”
Kilate, near 19 years old, has the light coat of a mature Andalusian. Younger horses’ manes flow like rivers behind them as the animals gallop. With each year, Andalusian manes get a bit shorter, Brookover notes. Once again, Brookover captures an animal’s particular grace and essence; all visual distraction around these horses falls away. Brookover’s latest photographs can be viewed on his website, www.brookovergallery.com. Â And those Andalusians? They can be viewed here.
David Brookover - Xochimilco - Silver Gelatin Print
