"Live Oak Tree and Cattle Corral"
Silver Gelatin Print
Summer 2019
First Edition
24" x 30" (unframed)
31" x 37" (framed)

About the Piece

Landscape photographer Dale Skinner photographed "Live Oak Tree and Cattle Corral" in Los Padres National Forest behind Figaro Mountain in California. His method of photographing and printing the image is an homage to wet-plate photographs taken by Timothy O'Sullivan during the Civil War and, later, O'Sullivan's work that captured the great emptiness of the American West. Skinner used a Deardorff 8"x10" view camera (the same model used by Ansel Adams) with a 14" Goerz Dagor lens and a Wratten X1 filter to highlight the greens and give the sky more definition when printed as a black-and-white image.

About the Artist

Raised on the Hearst Ranch in San Simeon, California, Dale Skinner has trained horses and worked in rural areas of the Santa Ynez Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains. In 2008 he took over the planning, design, and maintenance of more than 400 miles of trails in the Angeles District as a trails coordinator for the California Department of Parks and Recreation. He is an introspective man, and his work is often solitary. These factors influence his photographic perspective, providing him with the opportunity to "seek out the stories" within our natural landscape. Skinner began taking photographs in his late teens, documenting ranch life and his work with horses. His discovery and purchase of a large cache of vintage photographic equipment in 2011, including a Deardorff 8"x10" view camera and a set of Goerz Dagor lenses, began a period of experimentation that led him to some of the most scenic parts of California. He brings a watchmaker's patience and precision to maintaining these iconic photographic gems. Contact: DaleSkinnerPhotography.com