July 2015

Ethereal

Franka Gabler

Franka’s devotion to natural landscapes is apparent in her photographs. She often photographs alone. To her, being by herself in nature is a spiritual experience, where she goes to recharge, decompress, relax and reflect.

Dancing Fog, Big Sur

When photographing, she is drawn to interesting light, before she chooses her subject. The light and atmosphere she captures create sentimental impact and ethereal feeling.

In Mist, Yosemite

The mood in her photographs evokes emotions, enabling viewers to sense tranquility and calmness of dawn and experience a moment in time. Mist and fog help to isolate her from larger surroundings, allowing her to feel, focus, and connect with a subject.

Oaks and Granite, Yosemite

The images she selected for the “Ethereal” exhibit speak about solitude and personal experience and feelings, when surrounded with trees, rivers, lakes, oceans…

Rising Mist, Valley Floor, Yosemite

When photographing, she is at peace with nature.

Winter Day, San Joaquin Valley Wetlands

Franka’s photographs are published in several books: Photographer’s Forum’s “The Best of Photography 2010”, Gary Crabbe’s “Photographing California” Vol 1 - North , and Arts Alliance “Sierra Wonders”. Her photographs are also published in Yosemite Conservancy Magazine, Yosemite Sierra Visitors Guide, and multiple times in the Bodie Foundation calendar. Her work was featured in numerous exhibits including those in Fresno, Oakhurst, Reedley and San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, and Golden, CO, and is represented in private collections throughout the United States and abroad.

Winter Sunrise, San Joaquin Valley Wetlands

She lives in the Sierra foothills, in the small mountain town of Coarsegold, California.

Solitude

Bill Roeser

Being consciously in solitude for some time is necessary in life so as to establish a better understanding with our own selves. (Din)

Lake McDonald Sunrise

At an early age, I found the need to get out of the house or stray from the routine of life and to spend time in the woods, taking walks or just generally exploring what was around me. It was a time when I could connect with just myself. I was fortunate to spend many of my childhood years growing up at Lake Tahoe. It was a place where you could find Solitude without much effort and I was young with few commitments. I learned early the necessity and benefits of spending time alone, particularly in a natural setting. It’s not so easy today. The pace of “living” with connected technology is all-consuming. It’s hard to turn it off without feeling like you are abdicating your responsibilities. And then there’s work; deadlines, meetings, and the stress of an ever increasing demand curve.

Monument Valley Moonrise

The need for finding Solitude is more important today than at any time, at least for me. My photography is really a byproduct of my search for Solitude. The camera requires me to pay attention to what’s around me, looking for the beauty in composition. It consumes me, and my mind can only absorb what I am experiencing at the moment, hyper-focused on my surroundings. I cannot think, worry or even entertain other thoughts. I become part of the natural world. Minutes become hours and I am refreshed. The experiences always remind me of what’s important. I am grateful for the connected experience with myself and my God and look forward to my next outing. My photographs remind me of those experiences and I am moved emotionally by them.

Shaver Aspen

I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. (Henry David Thoreau)

Slot Canyon Five Zones of Color #6

I received my first camera when I was eleven years old; an Argus 126 film format. I was hooked from the start and continued my interest through high school and college, volunteering for year-book assignments and editing opportunities. My parents’ basement became my darkroom. Chemicals and equipment filled the space and my love for development of the image began. There are equal moments of Solitude in the post production process, whether that be in my parents’ basement as a young adult or now on my Mac with photo editing software. Finding yourself immersed in the development of an image is as powerful as being there.

We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation… (C.S. Lewis)

Bill’s fine art images have been purchased by many collectors and hang in distinguished homes and offices around the Valley and beyond.