Favorites of 2019 and of the Last Decade

Every year I try to select my favorite photographs of the year and I have finally (and belatedly) finished that task for 2019. I was trying to catch up on all of my photographs from my Western trip in the fall and that task is mostly complete. You’ll find the twelve photographs below in this post — let me know what you think!

A necessary disclaimer of this type of list is that it is subjective — this is what I love the most right now, and someone else looking at the same body of work would likely come up with a different list. Similarly, my own preferences can change as well, and on a different day I might choose different photographs.

I realized when doing this list that I’ve actually been making these lists for ten years, making a nice tidy decade of favorites. Since these lists existed in a wide range of locations, I decided to gather them up and put them all here in my website. You can find my decade of favorites starting from 2019 and counting backwards here, and my decade of favorites going forward in time here.

I found this process even more fascinating than a single year of work as it allows assessment of artistic style, taste, subject, and skill over time. Hopefully you won’t see my path as one of long and slow degradation!

Pyrotechnic Expanded

Illuminations #183

Illuminations #183

I’ve recently updated my online portfolio to include two new expansions of my Pyrotechnic project. Pyrotechnic was one of my first two projects and I worked on it between 2011 and 2016 until it reached a natural stopping point. Last year I went back to it, though, to explore color in addition to form and line. You can find the two spin-offs, Illuminations and Pyrotechnic Redux, on that portfolio page with examples from the portfolios now ready to explore.

2020 Workshops

I’m happy to announce my 2020 workshops with Maine Media Workshops, with a total of four week-long workshops scheduled for the upcoming year (including the dramatic return of The Winter Night Landscape in February). Sign up at the Maine Media site, and please feel free to contact me with any questions!

Back in Maine...

Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

I am done with my long journey out to the northern Rockies and am now back in Maine. I'm slowly catching up on things as I get back up to speed (losing power for two days didn't help!), so if you are still waiting on a response for me, let me know!

It will take a long time to go through all of my photographs, but it was a wonderful trip. 9000 miles of driving, nine national parks (5 in the U.S., 4 in Canada), about 15 snowstorms of various intensities, and approximately 5500 photographs.

Heading West...

Glacier National Park, Montana, 2003

Glacier National Park, Montana, 2003

On Friday morning (Sept. 20th) I’m heading west to Montana (as well as Alberta, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and points in between) on a long photography trip. I haven’t been able to make it on a real photography trip this year so I’m excited to hit the road again. I’m not sure when I’ll be back but it should be in mid-October.

My last trip to Glacier National Park in Montana was in 2003, and that is where I am heading as a starting point. I wasn’t particularly serious about photography back then and I look forward to photographing in one of my favorite places in the world with a (hopefully!) more developed aesthetic and with modern gear.

Alas, my main reason for going there now is to try and photograph the glaciers before they are gone, as that day is coming very soon. On this trip I will photograph the northern Rockies for my Annals of the Former World project, recording the state of these landscapes before they are inexorably changed by the changing climate.

I’ll end with a famous quote from John Muir:

“The mountains are calling & I must go & I will work on while I can, studying incessantly.”

Usually you see just the first half of this quote, but I find the full quote (from an 1873 letter to his sister) more illuminating. Instead of just a call to experience nature, the full quote reveals his desire to study and protect the natural world, responsibility in addition to pleasure. I will certainly enjoy immersing myself in the western parks again, but I go with serious purpose.

Iceland Exhibition at Kingman Gallery

Fjallsjökull #5

Fjallsjökull #5

I’m excited to announce the opening of my new solo exhibition at Kingman Gallery in Deer Isle, Maine. The exhibition is up and running now and extends through September 8th. We’re having an opening reception this coming Sunday, August 11th, from 2-5 pm.

The exhibition includes 11 framed pieces from my Iceland residency last summer, and you can check out work from all of the gallery artists as well. If you’d like to see more of my Iceland photographs from last summer as a sneak preview, I’ve finally put up a gallery of this work on my website.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Iceland-nickelson-kingman.jpg

Melt Down Opens in Portland

“Snæfellsjökull #1”, Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

“Snæfellsjökull #1”, Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

The wonderful Melt Down exhibition from earlier this year at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland travels south to Portland’s Lewis Gallery (at the primary Portland Public Library at 5 Monument Square) in an exhibition that extends through September 21st. The traveling exhibit is a bit smaller in terms of included work but should still be amazing.

The opening reception is this Friday, August 2nd, from 6-8 pm. I’ll unfortunately miss the opening as I’ll be picking up my daughter from Girl Scout camp on the other side of the state, but I highly recommend seeing this exhibition.

Exhibition at Thos. Moser Gallery in Freeport, Maine

“Pyrotechnic #185”, Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

“Pyrotechnic #185”, Copyright Jim Nickelson. All Rights Reserved.

This is the first update in a long while as I’ve been posting news in another place the last six months, but that experiment is now over and I’m back here.

So, to begin catching up, I’m included in a group exhibition at the absolutely lovely Thos. Moser gallery in Freeport, Maine, through November 2nd, 2019. Selections from my Pyrotechnic project are included. Ten other photographers are included in the show and it is definitely worth a visit.

Harmony of the Spheres Exhibition in Boston

Ourobors #1, Harmony of the Spheres project

Ourobors #1, Harmony of the Spheres project

A solo exhibition of my Harmony of the Spheres project just opened at the Garner Center for Photographic Exhibitions at the New England School of Photography in Waltham, MA. Next Tuesday, November 6th, is the opening exhibition from 6-7:30 pm. So if you’d rather avoid hitting refresh on your browser on election night as you agonize about the future of our country, consider joining us as we ponder the mysteries of the cosmos instead.

But make sure you vote first!

The exhibition extends until December 7th. The hours for the gallery are Monday-Thursday 9-5 and Friday-Sunday 10-4.

Off to Santa Fe

Copyright 2015 Jim Nickelson. White Sands, New Mexico

Copyright 2015 Jim Nickelson. White Sands, New Mexico

Next week I’ll be in Santa Fe for the juried portfolio reviews at Review Santa Fe. I’m very much looking forward to this — this one has been a challenge for my work to resonate with the jury in past years, but apparently the eighth time is the charm! I look forward to getting comments on my work and to seeing the work of all of the other photographers that were selected.

I’m going for a little extra time, too, to photograph some of that gorgeous New Mexico scenery.

If you are in the Santa Fe area and want to check out all of the work, there is a portfolio walk featuring all of the photographers on Friday night, October 19th, from 6-8 pm. Those events are always a great chance to see a wide variety of work up close and personal. Hope to see you there!

Artist Talk tomorrow night (Aug. 16th)

iceland-glacier-nickelson.jpg

My exhibition closes on this coming Sunday, and I'll be here at Pascal Hall (86 Pascal Ave. in Rockport) every day until then, 1-5 pm (except for closing early at 4 pm on Saturday). I do have an artist talk tomorrow night from 5:30-6:30 pm on Thursday, August 16th, so I'll be open late that day. Hope to see you during the exhibition!

A Sense of Wonder Exhibition at Pascal Hall

sense of wonder pascal hall square.jpg

I'm back from Iceland now (much more on that soon) and I'm very excited to announce a new solo exhibition coming up very soon -- next week, in fact! "A Sense of Wonder" includes a wide variety of my work (really, some of almost everything, including Iceland prints fresh off the printer). The exhibition will be at the beautiful Pascal Hall in Rockport, Maine, a place I've always thought would be perfect for my work. 

The exhibition starts next Wednesday, August 8th and extends through August 19th. I'll be manning the gallery myself during the gallery hours of Wednesday-Sunday, 1-5 pm. We'll have an opening reception on Friday, August 10th, 5-7 pm, and I'll give an artist talk on August 16th at 5:30.

I can't wait to see how it all comes out, and hope to see you sometime during the show!

Iceland Residency in July

Rock Study #1, Garrapata State Park, California

Rock Study #1, Garrapata State Park, California

I'm heading to Iceland in July! I'm ecstatic to have been awarded an artist residency at the Baer Art Center in July, and I'll be in Iceland (and out of my studio) from July 9th through the 26th. I know Iceland has become incredibly popular with photographers of late, but I can't wait to see it (and photograph it) for myself for the first time.

Cosmos Exhibition at PhoPa Gallery

Terra-Incognita-2-Jim-Nickelson.jpg

I'm incredibly excited about my upcoming exhibition at Portland's PhoPa Gallery that opens next week. The exhibition, entitled Cosmos, will have over twenty framed pieces from multiple of my bodies of work.

The exhibition goes from June 13th through July 28th, with an opening reception on Thursday, June 14th, from 5-7 pm. I'll give an artist talk on Wednesday, June 27th, from 5:30-6:30 pm. Hope to see everyone there!

Spring Break

Cosmographia #10

Cosmographia #10

I'll be away from my studio the week of April 16th on a family trip. I'll still have email access so feel free to contact me with any questions.

A Sense of Wonder

Cosmographia-8-Jim-Nickelson-2.jpg

I'm pleased to announce that I have a workshop now being offered at Maine Media Workshops. The workshop, entitled "A Sense of Wonder", goes from September 30th-October 6th, 2018. I'm really looking forward to this new adventure! Here is the course description:

A Sense of Wonder

Find new avenues for creative expression as you explore the mysteries of the natural world. Through a combination of lectures, image and portfolio reviews, demonstrations, discussions, and photographing as a group in the field, you’ll learn how to better appreciate the wonder in the natural landscape all around you, and to learn tips and techniques necessary to capture it in your photographs.

Ranging from sea to mountain to lake and to forest, you’ll get to explore intimate details of the landscape and learn how to capture natural processes such as tides and winds. You’ll have the opportunity to photograph the night sky (even experimenting with hooking your camera to a telescope) to explore the cosmos and, on the other end of the spectrum, you’ll be able to capture smaller aspects of nature with macro lenses and a microscope.

Discovery and experimentation are at the heart of this workshop.  You’ll find joy in discovering the Maine landscape in new and creatively exciting ways.

Participants may work in any medium and in color or black & white.

Favorites of 2017

Ouroboros #2

Ouroboros #2

I've finally had a chance to pull together my favorite photographs that I took or created in 2017. I do love this exercise as it is a wonderful chance to look back at one's creative process for the year and to see which directions provided successful results. I should also emphasize the word favorite above, as any such list is entirely subjective (and subject to change as well).

So, in no particular order, here are my favorite photographs of 2017!

First up (above) is Ouroboros #2 from my Harmony of the Spheres project, my favorite creation as I started to explore color with this series. From the same series, I also love Ouroboros #1 below (using my photograph of the sun along with the star trails).

Ouroboros #1

Ouroboros #1

Next up in my list of favorites is this photograph from the Painted Hills in Oregon, a place long on my photographic life-list that I finally visited this spring.

Painted Hills #1, Oregon, USA

Painted Hills #1, Oregon, USA

I've been working on a new series called Salacia -- more about this soon, but the photograph below is from the series for which I have a particular affinity (especially when printed large). 

Salacia #1

Salacia #1

I'm essentially done now with my long-term Adventures in Celestial Mechanics project, but one of my full moon photographs from this year will make my final edit, too, I suspect.

Moon When Cherries Turn Black I

Moon When Cherries Turn Black I

I continue to work on my Codex Natura project, with the photograph below making my list for this year.

Codex Natura #24

Codex Natura #24

Similarly, I love this new photograph in my East of the Sun, West of the Moon project.

Untitled #23, from the East of the Sun, West of the Moon project

Untitled #23, from the East of the Sun, West of the Moon project

I have a brand new project entitled Cosmographia, and these two photographs from that series make my favorites list for this year.

Cosmographia #2

Cosmographia #2

Cosmographia #8

Cosmographia #8

The photograph below is from Peaks Kinney State Park here in Maine.

Sebec Lake Study #1

Sebec Lake Study #1

...and also from Peaks Kinney is a much different photograph from my new Neptune series (coming soon).

Neptune #32

Neptune #32

And last but not least is this cyanotype from my Harmony of the Spheres project.

Euclidean Sonata #1

Euclidean Sonata #1