The Horses of Harbour Island

On my most recent trip, I had the pleasure of visiting the pink sand beaches of Harbour Island, just a short boat ride, off the coast of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. I was there for the annual "Princess Street Gallery evening of Wine and Art". I was in Harbour Island for an extended weekend and enjoyed a wonderful stay, and a great show, where I met several locals and visitors alike, all with many kind words about my work.

The next day after the show ended with a walk up the beach for me, the daily routine of gallery owner Charles, and his trusty dog bandit. Taking a break from shooting 4 x 5, black & white, I headed towards the beach with my trusty Nikon DSLR in hand, and soon found myself immersed in a different type of photo-op. We parked Charles' golf cart off to the side of the small dirt road we were on and walked a narrow path down to the beach. As we got down to the water, coming up the beach behind us were the horses of Harbour Island. It was dusk. 

I must admit it I really did not, and still do not know that much about the horses. I had seen pictures, even video of them, and had only heard very little about them. The first time I actually saw the horses, was the day before, when I arrived, and had lunch on the deck of the Coral Sands Resort. They were off to the left, thirty or forty yards up the beach, resting in a pen type area, beneath some palm tress. The next day I spent some time at the beach, and saw the horses again. They were being lead up the beach by a caretaker. They were halted and rounded up  a couple of times to take a few photos with several eager and excited tourists, in what seemed to be a very common experience. 

As the horses approached on my third encounter, on this cool evening, I dropped back and allowed the horses to catch up as I started to photograph them. They seemed very comfortable with a stranger just following them up the beach. A few times I proceeded to get if front of the horses to shoot them as they approached. As they got close, they stopped, as if I had blocked their path. They just waited to see what I was going to do, leading to more great photo opportunities.

I told Charles I would catch up, as I stayed behind, now following at the horses' pace. As the sun was now below the horizon, the light was disappearing quickly, leaving a beautiful faint pink, and blue sky as a backdrop. I knew I might get some great shots out of the moments that lay ahead, so I fired away. Needless to say, after a little editing, I was very pleased with the results.

If you would like to see more of the horses, these lovely images will be available online at www.korateo.com. Open Edition Prints of all of these images as well as many more will be available by going to my "Island Series" Gallery. I soon also hope to be producing a Limited Edition Portfolio of forty five, along with two Artists Proofs. This portfolio of a total of fourteen photographs will soon be made available online, and at all gallery locations.

The road less traveled . . . Rokers Point, Exuma

Last summer I found a beautiful stretch of coast line in Rokers Point, just north of the new Four Seasons and Grand Isle resort at Emerald Bay (a.k.a - Ocean Bight), on Great Exuma. A few years ago I went down a dirt road in Rokers Point with Mr. Basil Minns, to take a look at the progress on the new marina at the Four Seasons. I had never been down this road, but Mr Minns had, and he showed me the way. Just this past summer,I travelled down this road once again. 

Now that the new marina is open, I decided to drive in and take a look around. Driving to the tip of the marina turned out to be very rewarding as I got a great view of an area that lay just ahead towards the north, where my dirt road had ended. It was a massive cleared piece of land, which was rather depressing, but there was glimpse of hope; a rocky cliff-filled shoreline, that even had a surf break in it. A beautiful area that was untouched.

Back when I went with Mr. Minns a few years earlier, the road that led to this area, turned into a dead end; nothing but bush. This time, as I approached the end of this same road I saw a open gate, two construction trailers, and a single car. I drove in, attempted to knock, and was verbally waved in. The woman working there was very nice, and seemed rather pleased to have some unexpected company for the day. I explained who I was, and what I was doing. She said “no problem”, and I was off.
Wow! within 30 sec. I realized that I didn’t have enough film, nor time. I got one shot off but had to pack it up, as I had friends to pick up at the airport. Two days later I was back. I carry 12 filmholders/24 shots, which usually means 3 photographs, as I bracket my film and expose 8 sheets per image.



I never got back there on my last trip, but hopefully the area will still be accessible for the next couple of years, seeing how slowly things get done in the Bahamas. I got 4 pretty amazing images, and the knowledge that I found a new stretch of coastline on Exuma to capture on film.
I have traveled down lots of paths, dirtroads, and trails in Exuma. This was the first time any kind of progress help in my search for pristine, untouched areas. Normally when I hit a dead end, or the bush gets to think, I turn back, and look for another shot. But this time thanks to a newly developed marina, and newly cleared road, I was able to get some good shots, so thank you resort developer people. My race to capture the unspoiled, beautiful landscapes of the Bahamas, before they disappear is allways on, so is the race of progess and developement. See you at the finish line boys.

Water Sketches

Every now and then I get interesting emails from my website about my work. Several months ago I got a rather intriguing one from a musician. His name is David Paul. He is a classically trained musician with a Masters Degree from Rice University. David has over 21 years experience, including seven years as a first violinist with the Jacksonville Symphony. He wrote me, wanting to use my "Surface Series" images, to compose a piece of music.

       

       

David found my work through the website Artspan, a website of contemporary art, which is home to over 2,300 artists. After viewing some similar pieces he had composed with other work from other artists, I agreed. But I wanted to see and hear a rough draft of the music first. What I received a short time later was an mp3, which david called "a preliminary sketch", "not unlike a painter would do, based on your work" It was appropriately called "Water Sketches".

This collaboration can be viewed by clicking on the YouTube logo under News/Press on my "BIO" page, or by going to http://www.musicbydavidpaul.com/ .

I was very pleased with the final piece. It is a very soothing, and relaxing piece of music, which was a  great companion to the simplistic "Surface Series" images chosen. David Paul has several other works you can listen too and even down load on his site. I hope that maybe one day he would like to compose a piece for my black and white "Fine Bahamian Landscapes".

I just recently heard it the other night on my son's sleepy time playlist on my ipod, which I uploaded it on to, no comment yet from Lukie...

Watch video here

The Fourth National Exhibition (NE4)

The Fourth National Exhibition (NE4) opened last week to the public on July 9th, 2008. My wife and I flew over to Nassau for the opening on July 8th.

The National Exhibition is a sort of biennial art exhibition held at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, in Nassau. The exhibit showcases the the best of contemporary Bahamian art. From over 300 submitted pieces, the jury concluded their review process and chose fifty-one works by thirty-one artists. In my first year entering, I am proud to say two of those works are mine. The artwork represents a vast diversity of art which range from photography, painting, sculptures, mixed media, installation, video, and prints. The show had a great turnout and the exhibit was extraordinary.

The jury was headed up by the curator of The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas Ms. Erica James. Two of my black and white Fine Bahamian Landscapes were chosen; "The edge of where the ocean meets the land" and "Tree with termite mound #2". I had entered three works (the maximum allowed). The third image was "Regatta Sloop, Rolleville", a very iconic, yet stereotypical image of the Bahamas. After my immediate joy of finding out that not one, but two of my images were chosen for the show, I pondered why it was those two and not the third.



Before this opening, I had never even set foot in the NAGB, but from the moment I walked into the Gallery, my questions were answered. The show was much more modern and contemporary than I, and especially my wife had expected. My two, rather traditional works sat amongst a grouping of very unstereotypical Bahamian works. They chose to view me as what I hoped they would see, a landscape photographer. It was a very humbling moment to witness the state of the Bahamian art scene in such a mature and proud light.

My wife and I had a great mini two day vacation, and had a wonderful time at the opening. We spent the next day floating down the lazy river at Atlantis.