What is the Value of a Photograph that Feeds Enchantment to Your Soul?

When a photograph touches your heart and brings you closer to the hum of life is it worth investing your savings in this piece of artwork? How do you place monetary value on something that is subjective at best?

Over the years of my travels I have collected several very meaningful pieces of artwork that remain very precious to me. I have a watercolor painting from a young Massai man that I met in Tanzania that will always remind me of the red suka caped warriors herding their cattle on the savannahs of the Serengeti.

It is a simple but graphic depiction and it places me back on safari instantly with all its sights and scents.  I recall Massai with perfect English and cell phones standing next to their mud packed bomas surrounded by acacia thorn fences and on the lookout for lions.

Savannah Lion 11x17 Digital Print

 The print is placed next to two larger companion photographs I composed of lions, one up in an acacia tree, another, sitting in the savannah grasses, like the Lion King. They complete the picture, so to speak, for me. They bring the emotion of the location and experience to my senses.

How do you place value on this feeling that these images give to me?

My walls at home are covered with photographs, paintings, carvings and other pieces of artwork, mostly my own but each of them transports me to different worldly locations that make up the journey of my life.

Outrigger Canoe 11x17 Digital Print

A petroglyph plied from volcanic ash to a shaft of coconut fiber husk is displayed next to a series of photographic Giclee watercolor prints that depict an ancient Polynesian village. The thatched hut, waterfall and outrigger canoe complete the desired effect of my dreamtime where I may be a sailor from Captain Cooke’s sailing adventures  or a Gauguin character lost somewhere in the tropical South Pacific.

The artistic expressions that are created cannot be repeated. We may record something similar but no two days are ever the same. Sunrises are different. Everything changes. Capturing moments in time are singular to that event.

Tached Hut 11x17 Digital Print

If what attracts you brings you joy, buy it. Its value lies in what it brings to your soul.

When you have that source of inspiration in hand and are ready to purchase your photographic print it is important to be sure that what you are getting is as archival as possible, not only how it is reproduced but also in how it is displayed.

You want to use acid free mounting boards, linen tape and glass that does not touch your print all exhibited in good light but not placed in direct sunlight.

Those emotions that pulled you into the photograph will fade fast if the print breaks down and loses it resilience, disappearing before your eyes in a few short years. You want to relive those moments over the course of your lifetime.

In general fine art photographs are more archival than ever before. I prefer Giclee prints reproduced on a watercolor substrate or canvas. Both have a unique individual look about them with vibrant, saturated color and archival finishes. Standard digital prints will also last longer with today’s technologies. This becomes the choice of the artist’s creative expression and how the completed image is produced.

Displaying fine art photographs or other pieces of artwork in your living or work space is a momentary escape when viewed. Like a brief meditation you can take a series of deep breaths and recharge with positive memories and emotions. You will find that devoting a little savings into such personal pleasures will fill your life with just a little more happiness.

Related Posts:

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/hoe-to-keep-viewers-looking-longer/

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/can-color-photgraphs-enhance-positive-feelings-of-well-being/

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/photography-and-feng-shui-for-interior-design/

Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2009, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. My image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com. You can contact me through this blog or through email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

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How To Keep Viewers Looking Longer

For dynamic eye catching wall décor think about using a theme series or picture set that will pull your viewers attention and hold them for a period of time.

Photographic prints especially those reproduced as Giclee images on watercolor paper or canvas substrate are generally done in high resolution with deeply saturated colors.  They really do demand attention directing the viewer to explore the image content further.

Mountain Goat - 11x17 Giclee Print

A themed series can be of any subject matter but nature works best for healthcare facilities, offices and public open spaces. Even here images can be mixed.

A central landscape Giclee print utilized as the centerpiece like St Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, illustrated here, can be balanced with two or more wildlife prints like the mountain goat and bighorn sheep. They are all compatible because both animals are found in the high country of Glacier.

They complement each other expanding the viewers’ perception of the outdoors and present a certain visual intimacy to the rugged mountains, even if the observer has never been there themselves. Themes should have a sense of similarity in topic.

St Mary Lake - 16x24 Giclee Watercolor Print

If you are not into wildlife and prefer floral prints, flowers with bright colors present another good combination. As long as the subject relates to the central image the set will add positive energy to the environment they are displayed in.

Bighorn Ram 11x17 Giclee Print

Custom Giclee prints do not all have to be the same size either. Vary them for added visual impact. One large photographic print can carry the rest with other sizes in support of the main one.

Most of the time odd numbers work the best in design and layout so once the dominant print is chosen they can be offset or balanced with several smaller prints arranged in a pleasing manner.

Prints matted and framed can be grouped together or spread along your entire display space. However spreading images too thin will actually detract and confuse the viewer. Sometimes you may have to invest in more prints and have several groupings to cover the environment you have to work with.

Muted Dahlias - 16x24 Giclee Watercolor Print

You can also choose a more generic; more accessible landscape to appeal to the armchair traveler and off set it with florals or wildlife reproductions. It depends upon your ideas and personal tastes. Choice matters here at this stage of the decision making.

To some people that may all seem to formal a theme to live with and would prefer large photographic prints of just garden flowers. Here again choice is what matters. Flowers can be close up reproductions almost abstract in content but very bright with vivid, saturated colors and graphic in design.

Delicacy Dahlia - 12x12 Giclee Watercolor Print

At this point you can go for color that is compatible with your walls or other accents you are using regarding your use of space and décor. Do you require soothing, calming hues of blue and green or motivational active colors like red and yellow as the dominant attraction?

Some people feel that small prints have more intimacy toward the viewer. However large, mural style images are actually the best draw for large spaces like offices and healthcare facilities. You want to attract people and involve them from the moment they enter the room and if you have open space smaller prints can be ignored.

When displaying multiple images you want to create a visual pace to the presentation.  In choosing images for a set consider exhibiting a long shot, medium and close up, perhaps even an extreme close up and then another medium or a couple of close ups and then a macro shot.

Pastel Dahlia - 16x24 Giclee Watercolor Print

Giving a visual pace will keep your viewers interest at its peak. Seeing the same size image in prints actually becomes distracting or a bit boring. Repetitive image size of the subject is a good way to have an uninspiring display.

I have seen many art shows that had excellent landscape images but after four or five of the same horizon line or the subject dead in the middle of the print I lost interest. Showing twenty or thirty prints of the same visual interest is a good way to have your best images ignored.

The same holds true for displaying prints in public spaces, offices or your home. You can have all 16×24 prints that are matted and framed the same but vary the image content mass and you will get stronger reviews and comments. The viewer wont know exactly why but the element of intrigue will sustain them.

Related Posts:

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/can-color-photgraphs-enhance-positive-feelings-of-well-being/

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/photography-and-feng-shui-for-interior-design/

Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2009, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. My image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com. You can contact me through this blog or through email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

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Purple – An Element of Fire

Purple – The combination of blue and red creates a very intriguing color of an almost sacred nature. For many people the color purple has always been a symbol of royalty. Since it was a rare color to duplicate emperors, kings, and religious officials used it as a sign that promoted nobility and spirituality.

Delphinium digital print

Purple has the characteristics of being stable and presents a calming demeanor to the viewer when photographs with this mystical color, such as the floral images used to illustrate this post, are used as wall décor in health care facilities, home or office space.

Since purple is such a high vibration chakra color it should be used rather sparingly. This would mean that purple painted walls would be a bit strong, giving a rather moody feeling, to look at while a photo like a Giclee fine art watercolor or canvas print with elements of the color purple in it would be more mysterious and exemplify a sense of excitement to the viewer.

The delicate hues of this digital delphinium print demonstrate how this color can be used in moderation. Used as a combination print set or picture pair with the dendrobium orchid they can present a bit of reassurance and comfort to the observer.

Dendrobium Orchids Giclee print

This color scheme can be used to promote creativity and imagination. There are many hues and characteristics of purple from lavender, lilac and amethyst to a deep wine shade. In the realm of Feng Shui they are best used with some restraint but they can become an eye catcher when used as spot color in the process.

In future posts I will discuss several other colors, photographic prints and their function regarding Feng Shui and interior design. If you have some suggestions for the use of the color purple please add your comments to this post.

Related Posts:

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/can-color-photgraphs-enhance-positive-feelings-of-well-being/

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/photography-and-feng-shui-for-interior-design/

Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2009, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. My image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com. You can contact me through this blog or through email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

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Gold Rush Ghost Towns – Part 2

 Working on a book project illustrating ghost towns for a Canadian publisher I had a chance to explore some of the backroads of southwest Montana. After spending a few days in the Pintler range photographing Southern Cross above Georgetown Lake and Granite just outside Philipsburg I ventured south toward Ennis and Dillon.

Here I delved into the more preserved ghost towns of Bannack State Park, Bannack State Park, www.bannack.org, Virginia and Nevada Cities, Virginia City Chamber of Commerce, www.virginiacity.com rich in the history of gold in unparalleled settings.

Interior Bannack Bar

Walking the boardwalks of Bannack or Virginia and Nevada Cities your first visions are that of the American west. Worn planks creaked beneath my feet just as they did a hundred and fifty years ago for the pioneers that came this way.

The pungent scent of sagebrush and weathered wood fills the air as you keep looking for the horsemen that should be riding into town for the proverbial gunfight or dance hall brawl.

You get the sensations of Hollywood’s cowboy movies, the one’s many of us grew up on. But beyond the thoughts of John Wayne or Jimmy Stuart facing off the bad guys in the street there is real tactile history here.  

For thousands of years along the Ruby, Snowcrest and Gravelly ranges there were hunters and gatherers by the tribal names of Cree, Blackfeet, Shoshoni, Crow and Bannock. Then once the trappers, miners and ranchers came they displaced the native populations that had come before them.

Nevada City Street Scene

Montana’s biggest and richest gold strikes were located at Grasshopper Creek, near Bannack, and Alder Gulch just outside of Virginia City. It brought thousands of prospectors and those who serviced them to southwest Montana.

There were shootists, thieves and others that followed this path of land exploitation.  In Bannack vigilante justice, Henry Plummer and the hangman left their mark just as gold mining did. As I photographed this historic location I could not help but wonder if ghosts still roam the backrooms of the bars and livery stables.

Frayed rope swings in the wind from the gallows just on the edge of town as you follow the path uphill toward a collapsed mine entrance. What stories could these ropes tell the modern day traveler?

Livery Stable

Now a State Park there is much to photograph at Bannack. During the summer months life comes to Bannack with all kinds of activities and a Pioneer Festival that is well worth attending. 

The main thing for me was just getting lost in the history. I was intrigued by the interiors, especially the Bannack bar with sheer curtains blowing in the hot summer wind. What tall tales could these buildings reveal about the personalities that came this way? Beaverhead Chamber of Commerce – Dillon
www.beaverheadchamber.org

Virginia City is very much alive today. Most of it has been restored and seems frozen in time. Nearby Nevada City is an open air museum where everyone can explore even the interiors of the Victorian buildings.

Hot Baths 25 cents

From 1863 through 1868 the region was overrun with miners as gold was discovered in nearby Alder Gulch. Placer miners used pans, sluice boxes, hydraulic nozzles and gold dredges. Even hard rock mining left no stone unturned.

More than 90 million dollars worth of gold was extracted from Alder Gulch. The activity was supported by nearly 10,000 people as Virginia City replaced Bannack as Montana’s Territorial capital.

Nevada City looks like a movie set. In fact there have been films made here because of its authenticity. It is actually an assembled community with buildings brought in from various locations.

Meals lamp post sign

I investigated several buildings along the boardwalks photographing exteriors and peering into the windows checking out what furnishings they still had. I was drawn to the painted signs on a few of the structures. They seemed to say as much about the history as the log, plank and river rock shops themselves.

There are not very many places where man made history is so pervasive in the west as these three communities. They are impressive because they were real places that were inhabited with real people who lead rough lives and changed this part of the world.

 For more information about these and other ghost towns in Montana please refer to these websites:

Montana Travel Department of Commerce
www.visitmt.com
Philipsburg Chamber of Commerce
www.philipsburgmt.com
Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society
www.ghosttown.montana.com
Montana’s Goldwest Country Travel Region
www.goldwest.visitmt.com
National Forest Service
(Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest)
www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
www.fwp.mt.gov

Related Post: http://www.myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/ghost-towns-of-western-montana-part-1
Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2009, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. My image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com. You can contact me through this blog or through email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

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Ghost Towns of Western Montana – Part 1

Sun, wind and the ravages of both time and man have taken their toll on these weathered and worn buildings. Exploring their remains you cannot help but wonder what stories they have to tell. It is easy to sense the memories and imagine the personal stories of miners, cattlemen, outlaws, lawmen and dance hall women.

Everyone was an immigrant here, a traveler from some far off place in the world drawn to these wilds by the promise of gold, silver or some other form of currency. It was a rough way of life in these remote mountains and for a brief time it flourished in the rush for fortune.

Elkhorn ghost town south of Helena

My work progressed while photographing on an assignment to illustrate a travel guide article about ghost towns in western Montana. www.visitmt.com The historic mining communities of Elkhorn and Granite were my first two stops.

The false fronts of Elkhorn, www.ghosttown.montana.com, just south of what is now Montana’s capital, Helena, once promoted fourteen saloons among its seventy-five or so buildings. Elkhorn’s treasures yielded over $14 million in gold, silver and lead to its hard living people.

You can’t help but wonder how noisy these streets may have been on Saturday nights during Elkhorn’s heyday. Did the sounds of fiddles and accordions carry their dance tunes far down the dusty rutted road toward the Boulder River? Somehow I don’t think it was always the quiet and serene place that it was this day.

Standing outside the ornate false front of the lonely Fraternity Hall ones imagination can still hear the laughter and song emanating from its wooden planked walls, glassless windows and squeaky door frames.  This day had storm clouds brewing, lowering themselves onto the surrounding mountaintops. A brisk wind made me turn my collar up thinking of the ghosts that once pasted this way.

Granite mining relics

Earthen scars along the hillsides of the Flint Creek Range near Philipsburg, Montana, www.philipsburgmt.com, reveal the remains of Granite where more than $250,000.00 a month worth of silver was gouged out of the earth.

The backsides of many of the buildings were dug into the mountainsides themselves. Today their fronts are slowly dissolving into the past.  Heavy snows, the freezing temperatures of long winters and then the scorching sunny summer days twist and dehydrate the huge framework beams that were hone from the forest below.

Granite was once populated by more than 3,000 miners

Who were the people that roamed these hillsides? How many languages were spoken here? Was this a cultural melting pot?

Just a little more than one hundred years ago Granite was a bustling community with dozens of buildings including a three story Miners Union Hall and a district hospital.

Today the ambiance surrounding these gnarled, windswept, buildings gives one a sensory impression of our western American Heritage. A second notion feeds a tingling sensation, that of ghostly encounters that seem to peer out from behind the abandoned grey doorways and head frames.

Walking around, I kicked up a few home-made nails and spikes, pounded square, rusted, bent, and probably forged locally. I photographed several more buildings before resting on the milled beams of the Miners Union Hall for some lunch taking in the fine landscape views of Flint Creek Valley below.

My imagination strained to listen for the sound of horse drawn wagons pulling their heavy supply loads up into this steep terrain. But the roadways continued their silence, only the creaking of sagging ceiling beams and a few Clark’s nutcracker birds spoke for the hundreds of people that once came this way.

Part two of my ghost town discoveries will cover Nevada City, Virginia City, www.virginiacity.com, and Bannack, www.bannack.org, where the biggest and richest gold strikes in Montana took place.

For more information about these and other ghost towns in Montana view these websites:
www.visitmt.com
www.philipsburgmt.com
www.virginiacity.com
www.bannack.org
www.ghosttown.montana.com

Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2009, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. An image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com . You can contact me through this blog or through email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

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Backcountry Adventures – Lee Metcalf Wilderness

Snow was coming down hard with huge flakes the size of quarters piling up on the brim of my hat. Leading a pack string of horses out of the wilderness was a challenge in itself but with knee deep snow and in the dead of night, it was awesome.

My head lamp emphasized the size of the snowflakes within its bright beam and just beyond I saw dozens of glowing eyes reflected its light.  I was pumped.

I helped an outfitter friend set up a hunting camp deep into the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. Though I am not a hunter Tom from Medicine Lake Outfitters, http://www.medicinelakeoutfitters.com, and I had become long time friends through my photography with many adventurous moments over the years in the mountainous backcountry of Montana.

Outfitter camp at twilight

Just a half mile or so out of camp we were heading back to the trailhead very late in the evening after three days of cutting firewood, pitching a tipi and cook tent,  generally preparing camp for what was to come during hunting season. Tom forgot his permit papers and after handing me the lead reigns of the pack string road back disappearing into the blackness.

I nervously wrapped the rope around the horn of my saddle and headed down along the meadow with no trail in sight, only a deep white carpet and more snow falling all around. I was alone in seconds as Tom faded in the night behind me. I had never lead a string of five horses before. Just riding at night was irie enough. The excitement was palatable.

I could hear the snow falling, hitting my hat, chaps and parka. It was almost a hissing sound. The rest of the night was smothered in a deafening silence. I tucked my fingers under the saddle blanket to keep them warm against the flesh of my horse when I noticed those glowing eyes. They were just a hundred yards or so in the distance off to my right. It startled me.  What the hell was that? I could feel a sense of terror building.

Then, suddenly, from the blackness of night a bull elk let out a piercing bugle putting his harem on notice that I was there and they were to stay put. His glowing eyes fixed on my movement as he trotted toward me. Two more screaming calls and he stopped not wanting to expend too much energy. Perhaps he figured out we were just horses and not more female elk for him to pursue.

By that time Tom was back and took the lead breaking trail with me still with the pack string. Within another half mile he stopped waiting for me to catch up pointing out the fresh big cat tracks that crossed our path, circling the elk herd.

Life happens out there in this pristine wilderness.

 It only added to the wildness of the night with more memorable moments to talk about over some future campfire.

For more information on the Lee Metcalf Wilderness contact the Gallatin National Forest at 406-587-2520 or http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin/

Related Posts:
http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/track-of-the-grizzly-bear
http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/02/28/lee-metcalf-wilderness
http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/absaroka-beartooth-wilderness

Photographs used in this post are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography, 2009, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photography. An image catalog can be viewed at http://www.rangeofvisionphotos.com . You can contact me through this blog or through email at: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

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