Robert Demar, Photographer
Fine Art Prints
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> San Juan Summers > San Juan Winters > Tall Ships > Island Ferry Boats > San Juan Aerials > San Juan Marinescapes > Roche Harbor Resort > American Camp > Fish Net Variations > Madrona Moments > Skagit Valley Tulips > Wild Snow Geese > Motorcycle Baditudes > Rush Hour |
> American Camp > Colorless Impressions > Leaners & Squashers > Madrona Macros > Methow Valley Scenics > Nautical Highways > Oregon Dunes |
> Giclée Prints > Silver Gelatin Prints > Copyright > Print Sizes > Guarantee > Gallery Inquiries > Commercial Orders |
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San Juan SummersIn the summer, life is good. And, it doesn't get much better than summertime in the San Juan Islands! Sunshine and beaches, parks and picnics, kayaks and sailboats, ferry boats and salt air, bicycles and country roads, deer, eagles and whales are just a few of the things that invite one to sing and celebrate with a camera. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page San Juan WintersWinter in an island community can be a time for solitude and peaceful reflection - a time to remember the busy summer tourist season while on a stroll through the woods, now quiet and lonesome. It can also be a time of finding stark beauty in nature struggling with the elements. The leafless trees, waves crashing in a November storm, the first snows of December, and sea smoke rising from a marina on a frosty January morning, all make lovely subjects in this season of long nights. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page Tall ShipsIn a perfect combination of history, craftsmanship and nautical beauty, tall ships move gracefully around the San Juan Islands every summer. The Adventuress (1913), The Zodiac (1924), The Lady Washington (built in 1989 as a replica of a ship from 1788) and The Odyssey (1938), the four tall ships I've photographed, are frequent visitors to the Straits of Juan de Fuca. They offer educational tours, cruises, and classes on traditional seamanship - as well as providing colorful glimpses into our maritime past. Capture dates: 2005-7. Top of this Page Island Ferry BoatsDay after day, year after year, Washington state ferries work their routes through the ever changing seasons. Like diesel-powered bridges, ferry boats help people of the San Juan Islands stay connected with each other and to the mainland. From the air, one can always spot these large work boats moving from island to island, or pausing like bees on flowers at the terminals. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page San Juan AerialsThe San Juan Islands are secluded in northern Puget Sound, just six miles from Canada as the sea gulls fly. Served by Washington State Ferries, the four largest in this group of 50 inhabited islands offer such diverse recreational opportunities as boating, hiking, fishing, beach combing, whale watching, kayaking, bicycling, and camping, making them a popular summer destination for tourists. Their natural, unspoiled beauty, especially as enjoyed from the air, has earned them the nickname Crown Jewels of the Pacific Northwest. With a history of slower paced life, where such big city amenities as fast food, four lane roads and stop lights have yet to appear, the appeal of a low-key alternative lifestyle has lured some visitors to abandon careers and professions to resettle in this peaceful island community. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page San Juan MarinescapesLet my photographs take you for a cruise on the waters around the San Juan Islands off the northwest coast of Washington state. Come to the place where sky, land, boats and salt water meet at special moments and make pleasing compositions. The relationships between birds and sealife, beaches and driftwood, people, pets and nautical activities become a colorful palette for my camera. Can you see why I am grateful for the opportunity to photograph the blessings of beauty and nature, abundant in these lovely islands? Capture dates: 2002-7. Top of this Page Roche Harbor ResortLocated at the north end of San Juan Island, Roche Harbor Resort and Marina is a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. The Hotel de Haro was built in 1886 on the site of a thriving lime and cement industry. Now, with a large marina, beautiful gardens (very nice for weddings), and its own airport, the "village" is a wonderful gathering place for boaters, campers, bicyclists, and often pilots just dropping by for a lunch or dinner. In the summer one can enjoy a multi-flag colors ceremony every evening. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page American CampFrom the peaceful serenity that comes with having a light blanket of winter snow over everything to the wild crashing surf on uncounted tons of South Beach driftwood, the 1,223 acres of American Camp National Park on San Juan Island has it all! With a colorful history that goes back before the time of our civil war, this beautiful park on the wilder south side of the island offers beaches, cliffs, trails, wildlife viewing, bird watching, historical buildings, and an interpretive center. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page Fish Net VariationsFrom examination of minute detail, colors, patterns and textures found in piles of fish nets to documentation of the whole mass, this series honors one of mankind’s oldest and least modernized occupations, that of net fishing. These lines, nets, floats, rings and tarps are some of the gear used by salmon fishermen on purse seiners in northern Puget Sound. Piled neatly on docks or in storage areas, either between jobs, or in some wilting storage limbo of retirement, perhaps awaiting one last ride to a distant landfill, this gear offers endless possibilities for visually arresting and compelling compositions. Capture dates: 2003-5. Top of this Page Madrona MomentsImagine a photographic series where the subjects are your neighbors and friends. The Madrona Moments project has been all of that and more. I am fortunate to have several of these beautiful northwest favorites on the property where I live, and making a study of the fascinating patterns that occur each year as their thin layers of reddish brown bark fracture has been a labor of love for many seasons. Some property owners call them weeping trees as, depending on the time of year, they work to clean up the mess of blossoms, flaking bark, hard and brittle leaves in great profusion, or berries that squash and stain walkways and decks. But my wife and I wouldn’t trade these nearly magical trees for any other variety. The images here represent part of an on going study that begins again every August when the bark starts to crack and peel. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page Skagit Valley TulipsEvery year the tulips in Skagit County blossom by the millions on or about Easter Sunday. They cover the fields of rich bottom land where the Skagit River meets Puget Sound, and attract thousands of winter weary visitors from neighboring counties. Growing in profusion and brilliant colors, these Dutch natives herald the spring in the Pacific Northwest with a mighty welcoming cause for celebration. Mark April on your calendar if you have suffered an overcast-grey overdose this year and need some daffodil and tulip medication for your spirit. The valley is located about 75 miles north of Seattle, and the Tulip Festival runs for the whole month. Capture dates: 2004-7. Top of this Page Wild Snow GeeseWith a roar of thumping feathers and a mighty chorus of honks, sometimes entire acres of white covered fields rise into the Skagit River valley air. This remarkable phenomenon occurs on a frequent basis between November and March every year when arctic Snow Geese come down from the north to their winter feeding grounds. While on the ground, these walking flocks can move across the field of a bird refuge and chomp all the grasses and winter wheat like one giant lawnmower as they fill up and rest for the upcoming ten-week trip home. This gentle river bottom area is where they find their lifetime mates before returning to the land of the midnight sun to lay their eggs and raise new offspring in time for the next trip south. Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page Motorcycle BaditudesDoes riding a motorcycle make one a bad person? If the motorcycle is loud and big like a Harley, is its owner even more bad? Is being able to look that bad a prerequisite to ownership, or just another accessory that follows acquisition? Is that bad attitude just another part of the “bad boy” and “bad girl” apparel, or it a feeling that comes from being surrounded by a high decibel wall of sound one can’t leave home without? Are the grim expressions present because there is nothing funny or fun about the serious business of motorcycle gatherings? Or do the frowns on parade betray the high cost of membership in the two-wheeling brotherhood? Capture dates: 2003-7. Top of this Page Rush HourIt’s part of life too many of us know. It’s the millions of tons of concrete and asphalt we travel on a daily basis. It’s the jobs we have, the houses we live in and the automobiles we drive. It’s a quality of our lives we don’t pretend to enjoy, but firmly embrace with great determination. It’s the rolling fashion statements of pollution and consumption in which we take such pride. Twice a day, five days a week we participate in this ritual, along with our other rush hour companions, standing still on a dubious highway to enlightenment. Capture dates: 2004 and 2006. Top of this Page American CampThe images in this series are part of a three-year study of the ever-changing landscape of “American Camp,” a 1223-acre National Park on San Juan Island off the northwest coast of Washington state. They represent an intimate experience with nature and my attempts to capture the shifting moods she gives the Park in the different seasons. Located on the south end of the island, this beautiful and intriguing Park offers a driftwood covered beach over a mile in length, rises steeply to a height of 290’ in the center, and slopes to forested lagoons on the east side. From 1859 to 1872 this area was an American outpost military camp; the officer’s quarters and the laundress’s quarters are still standing. Capture dates: 1993-96. Top of this Page Colorless ImpressionsThey were homeless, and they lived near the waterfront of Seattle in the late 1970’s. Many of them came to this place in their lives after letting alcohol get the best of them. They were jobless veterans, forgotten parents, drifters or individuals with deteriorating mental conditions. Now living on a day to day basis and, sometimes only from bottle to bottle, these non-conformists, with histories of difficulties fitting into society, were sleeping in cheap rooms, or shelters offered by the city, or outside in whatever newspapers, cardboard or culvert they could find to keep out the cold. Most of them would never be able to climb out of the deep, dark hole into which they had gotten themselves. Capture dates: 1976-81. Top of this Page Leaners & SquashersWooden bones is the phrase I like to use to describe the wrecks and ruins, and the weathered wood which is all that remains of the homesteads, cabins and barns of some of the long-departed residents of eastern Washington State. Where the air is dry most of the year, holding rot at bay, the structures often endure intact until the weight of one snowfall finally proves irresistible. Looking at the scattered pieces, in the still mostly isolated locations, it almost always raises the same questions. What kind of people once called this now lonesome place home, and how hard was the life they lived in the simpler and most likely harsher times? Capture dates: 2002-3. Top of this Page Madrona MacrosMadronas exfoliate! Every year their beautiful brownish-red layers of bark peel in thin curling flakes to reveal the smooth green layer of new growth beneath. When this event occurs, generally starting around the first of August, fascinating patterns appear and change daily until sometime deep in the Fall. With a macro lens and black and white film I have attempted to capture in nearly abstract compositions some of the intriguing forms that nature has provided. All of the images in this collection are from trees growing on San Juan Island in Washington State. Capture dates: 1999 - 2001. Top of this Page Methow Valley ScenicsThe North Cascades Highway (Hwy 20) runs from the west side of Washington state, over the Cascade mountains, and into the rustic and alluring Methow River valley. In this area, that once hosted two short-lived gold booms (1858 and 1897), one can still see some of the remains from settlers long departed, along with numerous deer (which, it’s said, outnumber humans four to one). In recent years, this valley has become a thriving tourist destination for the three seasons of the year when the mountain pass remains open. Offering the second-largest cross country ski trail system in the United States, it’s also a popular resort area in the winter. The photographs in this series, mostly shot in the early spring or late fall, are just a few of the hundreds I’ve taken during annual trips to one of my favorite havens on this earth. Capture dates: 2002-3. Top of this Page Nautical HighwaysThe images in this series are intended to tell a visual story about ferry travel between, to, and from the San Juan Islands at the end of the 20th Century. The passengers, crews, the ferries themselves, and the backdrop of beautiful channels and islands all make appealing subjects for this five-year study. Taken from high in the air, flying over the ferries, to deep in the belly of their engine rooms below the waterline, the images shown here are part of a much larger series which covers all six Washington State ferries working the nautical highways of this island community. Capture dates: 1997 - 2001. Ninety of the photographs in this series are included in a book, “Nautical Highways, Ferries of the San Juan Islands,” and thirty are included in a traveling exhibition of prints.
For information about this book click here. Top of this Page Oregon DunesFollowing the central Oregon coastline in a long narrow band, the Oregon Dunes are not like any other place in the world. Although sand forms the dunes, they are unlike those found in any desert. Here deep forests grow right on the dunes; water runs through them; and rivers are dammed by them creating lakes in their midst. For me, however, the stark, bare, windswept and rain sculpted sand dunes are the greatest source of wonder and attraction. I spent a week there, wandering through the dunes on frosty mornings and blustery evenings in February of 2002, photographing nature’s art, created with wind and water. Capture dates: 2002. Top of this Page Giclée PrintsGiclées (color or black & white) are individually produced, high-resolution, high-fidelity prints made on a special large format printer with permanent ink on archival paper. According to the printer manufacturer, they have a lightfast rating of 80+ years. Giclées use inkjet technology, but more sophisticated than desktop printers. The process employs seven colors (light cyan, cyan, light magenta, magenta, yellow, light black and black) of pigment-based inks and finer, more numerous, and replaceable printheads resulting in a wider color gamut, and the ability to print on various media. The ink is sprayed onto the page, actually mixing the inks on the page to create true colors. Each of the prints made from an image on this site is one in a limited edition of 100 to 250, depending on the series. Each print is signed, dated and numbered; each includes a signed certificate of authenticity. Silver Gelatin PrintsSilver gelatin prints are hand-printed in a traditional wet darkroom on fiber-based paper, then toned for permanence. Each print is a limited edition of 25 or 50, depending on the series. Each print is signed, dated and numbered; each includes a signed certificate of authenticity. Copyright InformationAll of the photographs shown on this website are under copyright. These images may not be reproduced on the web or printed (for other than personal use) without my written permission. Print SizesIn a limited selection, some of the B&W images shown on this site are still available as 8 x 10 inch or 11 x 14 inch silver gelatin prints. Please note availabilty under Prices & Order Info, or contact me for information regarding any specific image. All of the images shown on this site (both color and B&W) are available as giclée prints, which may be purchased either framed or unframed. Unframed prints are available in two standard paper sizes: 8.5 x 11 inches and 13 x 19 inches. The image area will vary slightly, with print margins generally at least 1/2 inch. The two corresponding frame sizes are: 13.5 x 15 inches and 16 x 20 inches. Custom giclée prints in larger sizes are available by special order. GuaranteeI offer a lifetime guarantee against defects in materials and workmanship on all of the limited edition prints shown on this website. I cannot, however, guarantee the longevity of each print because I have no control over how you choose to display or store it. With proper care, you can expect these prints to last a very long time. To help, I will include a print guide "Framing and Handling Information" with each print purchased. Please read and follow these guidelines. Gallery InquiriesI am very interested in gallery inquiries for my work. During the past 35 years, I have had many solo and group shows in various galleries in the Pacific Northwest. Generally, I mat and frame 25 - 30 images in a series for each exhibition. The following series shown, in part, on this website have been on exhibition:
For each of the above series, I have on hand 20 to 30 prints, matted and framed, ready for exhibition. Other series shown on this website can be prepared for exhibition with suitable advance notice. Please contact me to discuss your interest exhibiting my work. Commercial OrdersCurrently I do commercial aerial photography in the San Juan Islands for realtors and private property owners. I also take local assignments from magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times. Please contact me to discuss any photography assignment you may have. Business owners: I can offer you competitive pricing on a permanent installation of any of my photographic series as decor for your office, lobby, restaurant, bank, or other place of business. Please contact me for references and further information. |
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