Geoffrey V. Brown

"New Ghosts"

2012-05-09T11:18:01-04:00

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New images added to the gallery "Ghosts"

2012-05-06T09:38:06-04:00

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This series explores textures and contrasts of light and shadow within a high key environment. Images in this series are mostly organic and straight from the camera, with very little digital manipulation outside of selective burning and dodging. I enjoy that abstract unpredictability of these images.

New images added to the gallery "Ghosts"

2012-05-04T04:03:21-04:00

New images added to the gallery "Figure Studies of the Sleeping Bear Dunes"

2012-05-03T11:23:50-04:00

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Some example images from my upcoming book and exhibition featuring figure studies shot within the Sleeping Bear Lakeshore. Images in this series include locations within the dunes, as well as some of the farmhouses and other historic structures in the lakeshore.This project has been years in the making, and is still in progress. I am seeking models for this project.

"Two Openings This Week"

2012-05-02T12:21:58-04:00

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My work will be appearing at two openings this week:

The new Traverse City Art and Design Studio will be hosting their first open house this Thursday from 5:30 to 8pm. This is a new gallery and design studio in town, located at 12070 Woodmere. I have included some larger images from my new "Ghosts" series.

Also, a selection of my work will be appearing at the Good Work Collective on Union during the Traverse City Art walk. Art Walk hours are from 5-9 p.m. The Good Work Collective will be hosting a downtown afterglow from 9 p.m.-midnight, featuring music and regional beers.

The Traverse City Art walk features 20 different participating locations, and is a fun way to spend a day enjoying art, food, drinks and music. Click here for a map of the venues!

"Morpho Gallery Chicago's 7th Annual International Juried Photography Exhibition"

2012-04-03T11:54:49-04:00

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I'm very happy to have been selected as one of this year's artists appearing in the Morpho Gallery's 7th annual photography exhibition. You'll find a selection of my work on display at the gallery from April 13th to May 3rd. There will also be an opening reception and awards on April 3rd, from 6pm to 9pm.

Hope to see you there!

www.morphogallery.com

"Ghosts"

2012-03-16T11:20:56-04:00

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I got back into the studio this week and put together a new series which I've titled "Ghosts".

I wanted to put together something new and completely different during this shoot. I decided that the best way to approach that mindset would be to simply abandon my traditional lighting setups, backdrops and everything else and approach the shoot from a different angle altogether. My first thought was to shoot something similar to the Rhyhm series, yet shoot it high key, almost inverse to the idea of the original series. As I began adjusting the lighting configuration and layout for this shoot, something completely different came together.

I rarely consider high key setups when I'm shooting in the studio, so this approach would force me out of my comfort zone. Most of my lighting configurations make use of grids or snoots, as well as home made light modifiers, most of which are designed for a very narrow, focused light spread. Stepping outside of concepts that I'm comfortable with has almost always resulted in a new direction with my work. The creative process can sometimes be suffocated by too many rules or boundaries which, over time, results in stagnation.

Despite my original intentions, I elected to do very little manipulation of the source images, with the exception of some burning or dodging (traditional darkroom techniques). The images straight off the camera were abstract and curious enough that I felt any additional changes might destroy the surreal effect that was produced naturally in the studio.

There was a lot of energy in this shoot, and it really felt good to break into something different. I'm hoping to do a few more shoots using this same setup in the upcoming weeks, perhaps with a few minor modifications.

New images added to the gallery "Ghosts"

2012-03-16T10:31:18-04:00

New images added to the gallery "Studio Hybrids"

2012-02-28T10:22:53-04:00

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This body of work features what I call "hybrid photography" - images which merge the use of modern digital photography with images from film based sources (typically 35mm and medium format). More recent editions to this series are also hand colored or painted.The work in this series was originally inspired by classical sources, and also was the start of my digital / film hybrid work. This style of imagery can be seen in my Dryad series, Throne series, Asylum Hybrids, and others.

"Return to Detroit"

2012-02-04T08:31:55-04:00

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I had the chance to spend three days shooting in Detroit this week. Like last year, we focused on some of the historic buildings and ruins in the area.

This year, the weather was much more favorable, and we went in with a specific plan for shooting. We ended up only missing three locations - one, because the location had just been demolished, and the others, mainly due to dangerous conditions at the sites.

There is definitely an apocalyptic feel to some of these structures. Papers and notes still sit on desks. In the police precinct, filing cabinets still contain records of tickets and evidence envelopes. In the classrooms of Northville, graded papers litter the floor and food trays remain, as if everyone had left at once. Patient records, vials of medication and equipment still sit in the examination rooms, virtually untouched. It instantly reminded me of the footage of the post-disaster Chernobyl sites.

The architecture of many of these buildings is something I am always drawn to. You rarely see modern buildings constructed with this level of detail and workmanship. Yet, these buildings are left abandoned, essentially left to stand until they fall on their own. It is very likely that at least two of these structures will not be around when we visit again.

My favorite location in this series was the cathedral, which stands empty and open to the elements, scrappers, and anyone else who happens to wander in. It reminded me of the granduer of Michigan Central Station, which is a structure that can not be fully appreciated until you are standing within its grand halls. Both of these locations present a vast potential for other projects.

In locations where the architecture wasn't as grand, I tried to focus on elements that might tell a further story of the site's history, or perhaps in some cases, present some irony. The nursery, for example. Or the bible on the steps at Calvary Presbyterian - open to John 20, which discusses the resurrection.

Given that these locations were quite a bit more dangerous and likely inhabited, we went in very light weight in terms of equipment. Everything is shot by nautral light, using only the equipment that I could stash in my coat (I do have big pockets).

From a technical standpoint, I strayed from using the HDR processes that I used in the previous series of shoots from Detroit. I've really become turned off by the over use of HDR processing, and the cartoony effects that everyone seems to be using along with it. While it was dramatically different and impressive initially, I think if you are attempting to produce your own personal artistic style, you're likely to blend in with everyone else if everyone is relying on the exact same software processes to produce their final images.

That said, I did use some degree of merged exposures, though minimizing the level of over processing seen with many hdr images, as I wanted to keep the environment and images as natural as possible. The lighting in some of these locations can be difficult, and using a range of exposures does help to better represent the highs and lows, over what a single image might product. As someone who grew up laboring in the dark room, I always gravitate toward the traditional techniques for image manipulation to create drama in the image.

In any event, I have many unedited images from both trips, and I'll be going through these over the next few weeks. I'll likely re-edit some of the old images as well.

As a final thought... this series of shoots revolved around sites outside of the center of the city, and took us to areas that I hadn't been before. The state of the city isn't something that can be captured very well in images, and this series only tells a small story. Blocks upon blocks of empty, burned out, or simply abandoned houses stand wide open to the elements. Rows and rows of empty businesses, warehouses, factories and apartment complexes litter the span of city. Yet, there are positive efforts in motion, and hopefully we can focus on some of those as well during future trips to the city.

Lastly - A huge thanks to my good friend Jason who helped with a lot of the research for both of these trips, managed the GPS, and helped to scope out the locations we went to (as well as carrying my tripod occassionally). These trips are definitely a team effort.

More to come...

Geoff B

New images added to the gallery "Detroit Ruins 2012"

2012-02-03T09:09:34-04:00

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Further exploration into historic ruins in Detroit (Ongoing)...

New images added to the gallery "Detroit Ruins 2012"

2012-02-01T10:04:19-04:00

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Further exploration into historic ruins in Detroit (Ongoing)...

New images added to the gallery "Dreams and Muses"

2012-01-13T10:15:01-04:00

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"In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction."- Job 33:15-16

New images added to the gallery "Studio Nudes"

2012-01-13T09:59:44-04:00

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Black and White Figure studies (1999 to present), including a mix of high key and low key style nudes.

New images added to the gallery "Studio Nudes"

2011-12-20T04:42:08-04:00

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Black and White Figure studies (1999 to present), including a mix of high key and low key style nudes.

New images added to the gallery "Rhythm"

2011-12-05T11:40:34-04:00

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When I was growing up, my grandparents had a series of photos from Eadweard Muybridge's Animal Locomotion series. I always found them to be fascinating, but it wasn't until I got to college that I realized the significance of this body of work. What impressed me the most about his work was not his creativity in composing the images themselves, but rather the creativity that he exercised in his technical implementation for achieving his visual message. Much like Niepce and Daguerre, a large portion of the creative process wasn't focused on the end result, but the foundation. I thought about this for years - how could I produce a modernized version of his ideas? More specifically, how could I produce something new based upon his goals, but also establish my own creative foundation in the process, an endeavour certainly more true to the form of the original body of work?This series really has no resemblance to Muybridge's efforts, but to me, it was an exercise in attempting to work from a very abstract concept not founded on traditional rules.

New images added to the gallery "** OLD Hybrids"

2011-12-04T05:06:00-04:00

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My hybrid images merge the use of modern digital photography with images from film based sources (typically 35mm or medium format). This style of imagery can be seen in my Dryad series., Throne series, and others. The work in this series was inspired by many classical sources, and also was the start of my digital / film hybrid work.

"NOW AVAILABLE - Detroit Ruins Prints"

2011-10-12T11:25:08-04:00

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Prints from the Detroit Ruins series available exclusively through my website!

This is one of my more recent series, in which we explored some of the abandoned skyscrapers and historical buildings in Detroit.

These are all canvas prints, which really complement saturated color and painterly style of these images. Additionally, these are not available through any other galleries, so they are offered (initially) at my studio pricing.

Did I mention these make great Christmas presents? Yes they do...

Prints are available on the sales page on my website.

New images added to the gallery "Figure Studies of the Sleeping Bear Dunes"

2011-10-06T09:26:45-04:00

New images added to the gallery "Landscapes"

2011-09-24T11:12:56-04:00

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Nature and landscape from various locations.

"Thanks everyone!"

2011-09-22T02:53:06-04:00

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The "Art of the Nude" show wraps up this Saturday, if you haven't had a chance to stop in and check it out. The opening was a success and kept us very busy. I was very happy with the turn out.

What's next...

Well, fall is upon us, and the colors are starting to come out. I would like to do some new images focused on the more wooded sections of the dunes, and take advantage of the colors this season. To date, I haven't done much in the way of color, but I think some hdr / hybrid work could be impressive out there.

After most shows, I get a pretty good rush of model inquires. If you're interested, feel free to contact me for info. I would really like to represent a range of people in this series!

More to come!