Robert Demar, Photographer
Photo Galleries ~ About My Images
The images on this site are divided into six galleries, each with several subjects.
Click on any of the subjects below to jump to the corresponding description.
San Juan Islands
Social Commentary |
Documentary
Travels |
Pacific NorthwestBlack & White |
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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. Visit official San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau website.
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 sea life, 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? Visit official San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau website.
Island SpringWinter’s ending and the plants are among the earliest to awaken again in the San Juan Islands. First, the little buds, then the blooms, and with those fragrances in the wind, the birds and bees begin to return. Blue skies promise longer, warmer days, and thoughts of fun things to do outdoors also begin to bloom. View Island Spring images. Up to list of subjects.
Island 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. View Island Summers images. Up to list of subjects.
Island FallIt’s the time when school begins again. In the afternoons, one can see hopeful youngsters trying out for first string on the playing fields of green. There’s fog in the mornings and in the dark, drenching clouds are drawing nearer. It’s also a time of colorful change and contemplation, a time to consider preparations for the season to follow. Best of all, in the islands, it’s a time when the summer’s rush is over and the busy strangers have departed. Everywhere there is quiet beauty and splendid stillness. It’s a time to take a deep breath and appreciate what is before your eyes. View Island Fall images. Up to list of subjects.
Island 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. View Island Winters images. Up to list of subjects.
Lopez IslandNamed after the Spanish Sea Captain who discovered the San Juan Islands in 1791, this beautiful combination of marinescapes and rustic pastoral scenics is another gem in the sparkling jewels of San Juan County. Visiting Lopez Island is like going back in time to simpler and easier living, away from the concrete and chromed existence of city living in maddening rush through thickening atmosphere. In all four seasons, this peaceful place is one of the four island served daily by the Washington State Ferries. Visit official San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau website.
Orcas IslandOrcas Island is a wondrous place with a diverse landscape, ranging from beaches at sea level to 2400 ft. high Mt. Constitution in Moran State Park. It is the largest island with the largest park and the highest point in the San Juan Archipelago. A land of beauty and serenity, it is much enjoyed and appreciated by residents and visitors alike. Visit official San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau website.
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. Visit official Roche Harbor Resort website.
Island DogsWork wanted! Experienced in the following: companionship, security, unconditional love, loneliness removal, physical fitness training, non-judgmental acceptance, stress reduction, worthiness promotion, affection delivery, self respect restoration, lowering blood pressure, advancing social opportunities, increasing responsibilities, producing laughter, and depression relief. Willing to trade for room, board and health care. View Island Dogs images. Up to list of subjects.
WildlifeIf you go for a guided wildlife tour on the water, a quiet walk on a beach or hike through the woods, you are likely to see some of the diverse critters supported in the San Juan Islands, a natural refuge for many swimming, flying and walking wildlife. On your walk, you might observe a silver fox, black-tail deer, a raccoon or even a nesting eagle. From the water or on shore, you are likely to see great blue heron, a pod of orca whales, California sea lions, harbor seals on haul-out rocks, cormorants, belted kingfishers, oyster catchers, osprey, river otters and a huge variety of water birds, depending on the season. Everywhere, the islands abound with wildlife that year-round or seasonally choose to call this remarkable environment their home. Visit official Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation website.
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? Visit official Oyster Run website.
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. View Rush Hour images. Up to list of subjects.
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. Visit official San Juan Island National Historical Park website.
English CampOriginally occupied by British soldiers during the San Juan Islands’ land dispute of 1859, this beautiful National Park land now offers a colorful setting for reenactments every summer. Volunteers, dressed and living in full period uniforms of scarlet and blue, demonstrate music, blacksmithing, spinning and other hand crafts of the past in a celebration of the peaceful joint occupation of the American and British forces. Today, a visitor to this neat and well-kept park can see some of the original buildings inhabited by the British Marines in the 1860s, view the formal garden that once separated the Officers from the Enlisted areas, walk through the woods on a nature trail along the shoreline or visit the small cemetery on nearby Mt. Young. Left behind when the British garrison departed, but there long before they came, are several big-leaf maple trees towering over the barracks, one of which is well over 300 years old. Visit official San Juan Island National Historical Park website.
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. Read about net fishing in Wikipedia.
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. Visit official Washington State Ferries website.
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. Read about madrona trees in Wikipedia.
Painted RockThe painted rock of Beaverton Valley on San Juan Island is a constantly changing place of declarations, memorials and temporary art. In the eighteen years I’ve lived nearby and had occasion to pass by it on a nearly daily basis, I have observed and documented testimonies on this monument to many of the random moments of our passing times, as well as painted tributes to some of the extinguished lives in this small island community, individuals whose deaths were sudden and too soon. View Painted Rock images. Up to list of subjects.
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. View Tall Ships images. View Tall Ships Festival images.
Tall Ships FestivalLet’s celebrate with those wind-powered connections to yesterday as they gather together in selected ports during the summertime, sharing their history and adventures. These magnificent and still-working sailing vessels of the past demonstrate a true commitment to a sustainable future in the Pacific Northwest. In the summer of 2008, the Tall Ships Festival includes events in Tacoma, WA, Victoria, BC and Port Alberni, BC. View Tall Ships Festival images. View Tall Ships images.
Jasper National ParkPicture this! You’re driving on a two-land highway, surrounded by towering Canadian Rocky Mountains, blue skies and giant, fluffy, white clouds. Every half-mile the scenery changes so dramatically that you feel compelled to pull over and take more photographs. It’s a very slow way to drive 100 miles and an easy way to run out of film or digital storage space. Watch out! If ever you should be fortunate enough to travel on the road connecting Jasper National Park with Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, it could happen to you. Read about Jasper National Park in Wikipedia.
Methow ValleyThe Methow River has it’s origin beside the Pacific Crest Trail before starting its 55 mile downhill journey which ends in the desert of Eastern Washington, where it joins with the Columbia River. Because much of its basin is located in National Forest and Wilderness lands, the nearly pristine river valley offers a multitude of photographic opportunities that include abundant wildlife, natural scenic landscapes, pastoral farms, open range lands, historic homesteads and rustic small towns. View Methow Valley images.
Oregon DunesCome with me and explore the impressive natural wonder of endlessly shifting sands that 55 million years of nature’s handiwork has created along a beautiful and unique stretch of the Oregon Coast. 45 miles long and up to three miles wide, the Oregon Dunes are the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America. These ever-changing dunes, with their fascinating sand patterns and unusual tree islands, rise as high as 180 feet and offer habitat for a wealth of plant and animal life that thrives in their relatively undisturbed forest wetlands. Read about theOregon Dunes in Wikipedia.
Simple Resting PlacesThese graveyards are not very large and, judging from appearances, look to be nearly forgotten. They usually exist along blue highways – those marked in blue on maps, indicating less traveled roads bypassed by freeways. And the graves in these modest cemeteries seem to have a certain sadness about them. Perhaps they wait for someone to notice the simple reminders of lives now departed, or to wonder, from the few remaining clues, about what kind of stories engaged the deceased during their time here on earth. View Simple Resting Places images. Up to list of subjects.
T. Roosevelt ParkIn the western part of North Dakota are three separate areas of land connected by a trail and a man’s name. The trail is called “Maah Daah Hey” and the man was Theodore Roosevelt. The two larger parts of this National Park, established in 1978, are about 80 miles apart and cover about 70,000 acres of badlands. The third area, Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch, where he lived in 1884, is the most remote and seldom visited. Completely fenced, all three areas host a wide variety of wildlife, including buffalo, elk, prong horn antelope, mule deer, black-tailed prairie dogs, coyotes, wild horses, big horn sheep, amphibians, reptiles and about 180 species of birds. Harsh, dry conditions, interesting mineral deposits and remarkable lighting make for an abundance of scenic and colorful photographic subject matter. Visit official Theodore Roosevelt National Park website.
Northwest LighthousesSymbolic and historical, romantic and poetic, standing alone on high bluffs or rocky shorelines, the light towers from yesteryear flash guidance and fire imaginations. A century ago, there were nearly 1400 lighthouses in this country. Today, about half that number remain standing, due more to preservation efforts than because of their useful purpose. With each passing day in this computer era, there is ever increasing evidence of total satellite dependence for positioning and direction. Fortunately, the destruction of these once life-saving institutions from weather, time and changing technology is ending as those remaining become focal points of parks and recreation areas, which fund their upkeep. Visit Northwest Lighthouses, an information website.
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. View Skagit Valley Tulips images.
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. View Wild Snow Geese images.
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. Visit official San Juan Island National Historical Park website.
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. Read about the homeless in Wikipedia.
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? View Leaners & Squashers images. View Methow Valley Scenics images.
Madrona MacrosMadrona trees 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. Read about madrona trees in Wikipedia.
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. View Methow Valley Scenics images. View Leaners & Squashers images.
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. 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. Visit official Washington State Ferries website.
Not ForgottenThey were all friends of mine. They all chanced to pass in front of my camera lens. And they all left too soon. Friends and family members, through accident or illness have gone missing in my life since the early 1980’s. The following photographs are a small tribute to those faces I’ll never see again, except in frames. All except one of them departed before ever seeing their first Social Security check. View Not Forgotten images. Up to list of subjects.
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. Read about theOregon Dunes in Wikipedia.
Oyster RunBack in the early 1980s, a small group of motorcycle riding friends agreed to head north on Highway 9 one Sunday for some Oysters in the small town of Edison, Washington. The time of year was late in September. That ride what the first of an annual fall event that, not too many years after it began, could no longer be contained by Edison. After some persuasive talk and a two-million dollar, one-day event insurance policy was signed, the city of Anacortes, WA consented to become the official destination of “The Oyster Run.” Currently, this predominantly Harley Davidson riders’ rendezvous sees as many as 20,000 motorcycle enthusiasts on the last Sunday of September every year. The bikes come from all over Washington, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia. The event, which is now the largest motorcycle rally in the Pacific Northwest, features vendors of foods, accessories, clothing and leather goods, along with bands and the Seattle Cossacks performing on vintage Harleys. Visit official Oyster Run website.
Wine Flights-DaymaresThere comes a time, and for some it’s many times, when the liver has taken almost all the damage it can stand from the consumption of cheap, fortified wine, and one must lay down to experience a profound slumber, similar to the paralysis found in opium dens. For the homeless person, possibly dying already from the condition of their organs, it’s a time of extreme helplessness and vulnerability. It is also a time of forgetting the place where they have arrived, however temporarily, and forgetting the circumstances of their past which have delivered them to this near-final destination. Read about the homeless in Wikipedia. |
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