The Scoop on 'Scapes (My New Show)

...from a photographer's notebook
                                                                                                               

 

I'd like to invite you to my new exhibit, opening this week.

‘scapes (short for landscapes, cityscapes, nightscapes, dreamscapes, and escapes) will be on view through August 23 in the Garden Gallery, in the Visitors Center at Quiet Waters Park, a lovely nature preserve along the South River in Annapolis, Maryland. The Opening Reception is this Sunday, July12 (see below).

‘scapes makes stops high in the Bernina Alps of Switzerland’s Canton Graubünden, and in the Valais Alps – including from the 10,300-ft aerie of the Gornergrat, looking across to the mighty Matterhorn rising out of the cloud deck into the Alpine high altitude sunshine, and down at the rugged expanse of the Gornergrat Glacier. It rides the narrow gauge rails of the Rhätische Bahn’s rugged Albula Line…soars to 12,000 feet on L’Aiguille du Midi in the French Alps…relaxes on the shore of glacial-turquoise Moraine Lake and climbs to the autumn-gold Larch Valley in the Canadian Rockies…explores the rough-hewn village of Nesso, along Italy’s Lago di Como…visits the Scottish Highlands, and navigates to New York, Washington, London, Glasgow, and Paris, including by night. Some inviting destinations in the Chesapeake Bay Region, too, including autumn images taken last October in Quiet Waters Park.

About the "escapes" mentioned above...

If the early onset of the hot summer steamies has been getting to you, I've made sure to include, in addition to those high altitude alpine images, some "escapes" into a world of icebergs and glaciers. And if that doesn't work for you, there will, of course, be cold libations!

Dreamscapes? Well, sometimes, usually late at night, when the world seems a bit too literal, I'll summon my "digital genie" from her ever-present bottle as we conspire to transform certain of my images into...well...varying dimensions of (sometimes, un-)reality.  A few of these are included in the show amidst the more literal 'scapes.  Here's one of them.

The exhibit will include lots of new work created in the past two years since my last show, as well as some old faves, both in color and classic black and white. There will also be a selection of smaller matted work.

More information:

I hope you can stop by for the Opening Reception or any time during the run of the show. Please do note that the Visitors Center closes at 4 PM and that the park is closed on Tuesdays. You may also like to explore some of the park's many scenic trails while there!

©2015 Steve Ember

 

What might a Vertiginous Dreamscape and an Alpine cloudscape have in common?

     ...from a photographer's notebook

Vertiginous Dreamscape No.2    ©2014 Steve Ember

Well, let's see...they both contain some deep blue, lots of textures, and they both might keep you from having a second drink at a gallery reception if you have fear of heights...

But, in this case, I'm pleased, and honored, to say that my abstract "Vertiginous Dreamscape No.2" and my alpine landscape "Matterhorn Above the Clouds" were both selected for inclusion in the Maryland Federation of Art's MD Art @ College Park show.

Ann Shafer, Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Baltimore Museum of Art, was the juror for this exhibit, which will be on view through August 2 at The Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park.
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I'm ready for my close-up now...

...from a photographer's notebook

Isn’t he a sweet looking little fella? Referring to the guy on the right, of course…

The Village of Juf, in the Avers region of Switzerland’s Canton Graubünden, sits at an altitude of 6,975 feet, and is the highest village in Europe with a year-round population.

It was a photo-perfect autumn day in 2011, part of a sojoun in Switzerland marked by nearly 100% superb Alpine weather, and my Bündnerfreunde Beatrice and Ruedi were introducing me to parts of Graubünden I would never have discovered on my own.

On this particular afternoon, we’d driven up the steep road leading to Juf. This region is well above the tree-line, and has a “look” all its own, with its verdant, yet treeless topography and the distinctive Walser style of its buildings (the village was originally settled by Walser immigrants in the 13th century). 

Walser buildings with their distinctive tiled roofs, village of Juf, Avers-Region, Canton Graubünden.

After lunch in the high Alpine sunshine, and, of course, some photography in the village, we headed back down the road, making several stops at points along the way.

As I recall, the first stop was a steep high Alpine pasture, leading the eye up toward some jagged peaks at Avers am Bach.  But what caught my eye, prompting me to ask Ruedi to pull over, was this donkey, contentedly enjoying his status as minority-of-one amidst all the cattle grazing on the hilly contours of the pasture.

 He was such a cute little fella, with such a sweet expression, I just had to get up close and personal with the cameras. Fellow photog Beatrice was similarly inspired.

Beatrice mit Herr Esel                                                                                                                                         ©2011 Steve Ember

Our new friend Herr Esel seemed to be very much a people-donkey and showed no reticence in approaching. Nor did he shy away as I raised a formidable looking Canon EOS-1 with motor drive booster attached, and approached him for some close-ups.

Thank you, Beatrice, for catching that special moment!

©2014 Steve Ember