Colorado Photography of the American West

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19 February 2010

The Many Faces of Gary Heller

Gary Heller self portrait-The Steampunk

Gary Heller Photography caught my attention over a year ago with a stunning winter shot of a farm house. His photography of derelict barns is award winning; he was the Grand Prize recipient of the Historical Ithaca's 2009 Barn Survey competition. His New York water towers have been featured on Warner Bros epic series "V" on the ABC television network. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. His repertoire is vast and not only includes architectural features but also beautiful and dreamy nature photography.



Gary Heller self portrait-True Evil
Gary's photography has often been described by his peers with such adjectives as "unusual," "dark," "foreboding," "unique”. One fellow photographer has used the term "pleasantly strange". That description sums it up best for him as he strives for strange, yet pleasing compositions.



Gary Heller self portrait-Steampunk Man in an Industrial Corridor
Gary says, "I was brought up in a household of culture and an appreciation for the arts. My mother is an artist and would spend much of her free time working on her paintings. I can remember as a child, sitting by her side as she explained to me the how and why of what she was doing. Her influence has been with me ever since. I approach my photography as I would a painting, from composition to post processing."


Gary Heller self portrait-Man at the Table



Gary Heller self portrait with pipe
Gary's latest adventure with self portraiture is fascinating, humorous and inspiring in the technical purity and artistic flair of his work. Portraiture is an area of photography that takes a great amount of skill and to do self portraiture not only takes courage but a bit of self deprecation. Personally, I would love to see Gary do a whole book of these wonderful self portraits. Wouldn't you?

Visit him on Esty at Gary Heller Photography to see all of his award winning work or read about the behind the scenes production of Gary's work on his blog.




Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
garyhellerphotograph.etsy.com

15 comments:

  1. Loved this post. He is amazing and so unbelievably talented! Thanks for sharing.

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  2. The first shot reminds me of Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future.... I love the sense of humor he has..B&W rules..

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  3. Super cool post, Julie! Great to learn more about one of my favorites!

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  4. He's such a rogue--amazing processing work. I love that his work is on "V"!

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  5. I've seen his work and agree with you completely, as well with everyone else who commented. "Rogue" fits him well! Great post, Julie.

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  6. Wonderful post Miss Julie but all I want to do is grab a brush and comb his hair. I'll have to check out his photography!

    Have a great day and a wonderfully blessed weekend!!! :o)

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  7. Well...who needs Annie Liebovitz? :)

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  8. How great that you have featured this amazing photographer. I love Gary`s work and hope he hasn`t bitten off his tongue with it lodged so firmly in his cheek. His series of self-portraits do deserve to be seen in a gallery or a book.

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  9. Isn't Gary wonderful? I have been following him for quite awhile. So wonderful.

    He and you Julie are under my "Inspiring Photography" header on my blog! Both your blogs are so inspriational to me.

    Warm thoughts,
    Catherine

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  10. Thank you all for visiting! I'm glad you enjoy Gary's work as much as I do. He is an extraordinary photographer!

    Cheers!
    Julie

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  11. Catherine,
    That is the sweetest thing to say and do! Thank you very much for adding me to your page and I am highly flattered to be in Gary's company!

    Cheers!
    Julie

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  12. Julie, thank you so much for considering me and featuring my works on your blog. I have to admit its a bit embarassing seeing those ridiculous characters all out on the page here, but I'm honored really.
    Bonnie, your are too funny!

    Thanks for all the good words and your time to comment on these, I'm encouraged and you have only yourselves to blame. . .;)
    Thanks

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  13. I like how well thought out these shots are. It's not about just finding a background - there's some definite meaning. Great post processing work, and pretty amazing self-portraiture too.

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Contemporary photography of the cities, landscapes, flora and fauna of the American West.
Julie Magers Soulen Photography