Robert Demar, Photographer

Welcome!
Here you can see both
color and B&W photographs by Robert Demar.

Click on any category to the left for a drop-down menu
of the subjects within. Select and click on the series you wish to view.
Each series includes 15 or more images.We hope you'll
enjoy your visit!

Robert Demar, professional photographer

Robert Demar has been taking pictures, capturing his surroundings on film, since he was a young boy with a Brownie Hawkeye. While his photographic career began in the Seattle area, he now lives and works on San Juan Island in Washington state, where he finds his camera drawn to many compelling subjects.

B&W Photography

Between 1975 and 2002, Demar worked almost exclusively in black and white photography, doing all of his own darkroom processing and printing. He had numerous solo and group exhibitions of his B&W photographs in the greater Seattle area and on San Juan Island during this period, including:

Colorless Impressions and Wine Flights & Daymares - portraits of homeless people living in Seattle’s First Avenue area.
American Camp - a documentary study, spanning three years and all seasons, of a scenic national park located on the southern tip of San Juan Island.
Madrona Macros - close-up macro photographs revealing intriguing textures and patterns in the peeling, fracturing bark of Madrona trees.
Nautical Highways - a pictorial history of the Washington state ferries serving the San Juan Islands between 1997 and 2001. Demar’s book of black and white photos on this subject, Nautical Highways, Ferries of the San Juan Islands, was published in 2002.

Although Demar enjoys taking photos everywhere he goes, he tends to concentrate on certain subject matter, attempting to see it in every possible light (literally and figuratively). In addition to the photographic series mentioned above, he has also worked extensively with such subjects as old homesteads and scenic landscapes of the Methow River Valley in Eastern Washington, and the wind-sculpted formations of the Oregon Dunes.

When asked why he worked in black and white photography, Demar would say that he enjoyed the control and fine tuning possible during the process of creating toned, silver gelatin, fine art prints in his own darkroom. Since working with a color lab to create color prints was not as satisfying, he stuck with B&W for the most part.

Color Digital Photography

However, when professional digital cameras and the capability to make high quality, archival digital giclée prints became available around 2000, Demar began to apply his well-developed photographic talents to taking color pictures. His first color study to be shown in exhibition was Fish Net Variations - a series of macro and close-up images manifesting the alluring textures, patterns and colors found in nets and fishing gear used by salmon fishermen in the Pacific Northwest.

Some of the subjects now attracting Demar’s color-tuned eye and digital camera are:

Skagit Valley Tulips - over 60 varieties blooming in acres of fields, drawing visitors from far away to the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.
Wild Snow Geese - nature photography at a reserve located in Skagit Valley.
San Juan Marinescapes - marine photography celebrating the seascapes, sunsets, sunrises, reflections, ferries, sail boats, small harbors, and the waterways among the hundreds of islands off the northwest coast of Washington.
Northwest Lighthouses - beautiful, historical structures designed to mark dangerous coastlines and assist in navigation.
Tall Ships and the Tall Ship Festival - living history, these magnificent wooden sailing ships, with their towering masts and massive sails, still cruise the waters of Puget Sound.
Motorcycle Baditudes and Oyster Run - a look at the visual persona of bikers attending the annual motorcycle rally in Anacortes, Washington.
Rush Hour - an ongoing documentary study of rush hour traffic, the freeway commute, in the greater Seattle metropolitan area.
Simple Resting Places - images revealing modest and nearly forgotten grave sites and cemeteries found along little-traveled blue highways of the Northwest.
Madrona Moments - this time with his digital camera, Demar returns to his previous interest in Madrona trees, creating a series of macro and wide-angle color images.

Robert Demar is also quite well known for his professional aerial photography. He takes assignments from realtors, publication editors, the Visitor Bureau and private individuals, who depend on him to provide clear, accurate images of island properties and surrounding environment. The photos in San Juan Aerials, a series taken from some of his assignments, validate the name given to these islands, The Crown Jewels of the Pacific Northwest.

Photographs by Robert Demar
Fine Art Giclée & Silver Gelatin Prints

Demar welcomes you to this on-line gallery of his photography, past and present. It is his intention to add new series of images periodically.

Visit the Fine Art Prints page to read more about the subject matter of each of the series. Also on this page you will find information about giclée and silver gelatin prints, print sizes, commercial orders, gallery inquiries, and the guarantee offered should you decide to purchase a print.
Visit the Prices & Ordering pages for prices on available print options and ordering information for fine art prints of any of the images shown on this site.

Photographic Services and Assignments

Visit the Aerial Services page for information about different types of aerial work Demar does. A general idea of pricing is also included.
Visit the Assignments page for a partial listing of previous Demar photographic assignments, including ones for the New York Times, and his terms for accepting assignments.
Visit the Commercial Uses page if you are interested in stock images in digital form for use on the web, printed brochures and catalogues, display or other printed matter.
Visit the Restorations page if you are interested in restoration of old photographs, including vintage family portraits, snap shots and scenics.

Thank you!