Posts Tagged ‘wildlife photography’
Brookover’s New Bromoils & Platinums
Last spring Jackson photographer David Brookover unveiled what is sure to become one of his signature photographs, an iconic bromoil of a bison. Now, on the eve of Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival 2011, Brookover is introducing seven new platinum palladium prints. Traditionally, Brookover has favored landscapes and ancient architecture. For over a year he’s been shooting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s indigenous wildlife and Park habitats, redefining nature photography.
The downstairs of Brookover’s Jackson gallery has been transformed into a visitors’ sanctum. “It’s a meditative space,” Brookover says. “People come down and spend 30, 45 minutes. It’s calm; upstairs has more bustle, with the activity of Gaslight Alley and Town Square just outside. On the lower level it’s cool and quiet. When folks discover these images they want to remain with the photographs.”
Brookover’s wildlife images are crafted using traditional, ancient methods and materials. Japanese printing papers are made as they were in the 1st century. These fabrics enhance Brookover’s sophisticated, minimalist compositions, resulting in a thoroughly refreshed wildlife photography style.
Brookover talked about his bromoil process.
“It starts with silver gelatin; you strip away the silver and you’re left with a matrix of gelatin and paper. “You ‘go in’ with lithographic
pure inks. Using a special Japanese brush I tap it, brush it, work it for about an hour. I let the image set overnight, throw it in water, wipe off excess ink, and then repeat that sequence…for four more days. And usually, after four days, I’m not satisfied! So we play with different exposures, work on the negative, and I think about how to apply ink once as I get further along. We started on the Buffalo bromoil a few days before Superbowl Sunday and finished it April 15—over two months to get it right. It’s a challenge for printers! But we got it.”
A bromoil image of the Great Wall of China’s has striking perspective, its solidity and details palpable. Brookover creates thick atmosphere using a brush and a density of inks to build up shadows and enhance texture. “When silver gelatin papers were developed, they were popular because it was so much easier than bromoil,” notes Brookover. “But I love the process; there’s a certain masculinity to it.”
A photograph of Yellowstone’s Firehole River is as mystic as a sacred shrine. In another shot, two young great horned owls nestle in a cottonwood’s gnarled, sheltering trunk. “Silent Storm” is a hauntingly beautiful image of a Yellowstone bison bearing up under heavy winter snows. The animal is enveloped in hot spring mists.
Fans of Grand Teton National Park’s Bears 399 and 610 will want to see Brookover’s series of photographs of those two bears and their cubs. Like pages from a private ancestral album, the platinums portray touching family moments. The series is intimate, playful, and timeless. On a wall nearby, a wolf appears to be walking across the surface of the Madison River’s glittering waters.
“These platinums and bromoils are a team effort,” says Brookover. “We love exploring historical processes. That’s where we’ve been, and that’s where we’re going.”
I recommend stopping in to see David Brookover’s new platinum and bromoil images during Fall Arts Festival. Palates & Palettes night, the gallery will raise funds to benefit the Teton Raptor Center; Raptor Center avian “residents” will be on hand. For more information, phone 307.732.3988. Brookover will launch his new website this week! Stay tuned! www.brookovergallery.com
“Here is the new Bison Bromoil, another first for the Jackson art scene.” - David Brookover
For the past five years Jackson, Wyoming based photographer David Brookover has been immersed in platinum palladium prints, gorgeous minimalist images of landscapes, southwest architecture, and a subject new for Brookover, Yellowstone’s wildlife. Brookover continues to explore that photographic medium.
At this writing,(April 25, 2011) platinum is trading at $1,836.75 US an ounce, while palladium is at $775 US an ounce.
Those prices may be a little stiff, even for Brookover! Whether they are or not, the photographer will soon introduce his new Bison bromoil print to the Jackson arts community, as well as to the world at large. Brookover’s works are part of private collections around the world. Brookover is often at his gallery, on the corner of Gaslight Alley in downtown Jackson. An unusually accessible photographer, he loves to talk about his printing processes and tell the stories behind his hallmark photographic prints. The practice has helped win Brookover a devoted following.
“I am very pleased with the bromoil prints we have done and will be introducing a few more this year,” says Brookover. “The printing process has been around for over a 100 years and has (like the platinum palladium prints we showcase) a proven archival track record that our collectors appreciate. This new bison image will be framed by the world renown Randolph Laub. Randolph is famous for his one-of-a-kind profiles and finishes, handcrafted individually to fit each image. I am honored to be amongst his client list ; that list includes Irving Penn, Edward Steichen, Albert Watson and Herb Ritts. We look forward to showcasing photography as we feel it is meant to be.”
The new bromoil print will be in the gallery June, 2011. Brookover has also switched up his downstairs gallery space and invites the public to stop by to take a look.
Want to learn more about bromoils? Brookover suggests this site: http://www.saelon.com/bromoils/bromoils.html
•
The Jackson Hole Art Association is changing up its Studio Tours format. Long before Jackson’s Fall Arts Festival 2011 gets underway artists will be able to showcase their work at the Center for the Arts Lobby beginning August 5 and continuing through September 30, 2011. The tour, turned show, is entitled “Artists’ Open Studio.”
“It will be a little more informal,” says the Art Association’s Jenny Dowd. “We will showcase art by artists involved in the Studio Tour.”
Artists will display their art (at the Center for the Arts) and have opportunity to show their work. They will also be able to schedule individual appointments to their own working studios. If an artist has an open weekend, they may provide scheduling details alongside the art.
A partial list of participating artists includes: Natalie Goss, Huntley Baldwin, Terry Chambers, Dee Parker, Susan Thulin and Laurie Thal.
Travis Walker may be designing this year’s promotional card; not confirmed. At this writing, no formal opening reception is planned, but stay tuned! For more information contact Jenny Dowd: jenny@artassociation.org.
“(Lanting’s) extraordinary collection of photographs, taken around the globe over a period of 20 years, is an impassioned endeavor to depict the “kaleidoscopic nature” of jungles.”