Nature Photography with Gerald and Buff Corsi

Gerald and Buff Corsi in Yosemite, CA

By Sandi Funke, Education Director

Gerald and Buff Corsi are world-class photographers whose works have been featured in National Geographic and other prestigious publications. On Sunday, April 27th they taught an Introduction to Field Photography class at Pepperwood, covering basic camera techniques as well as providing some tips and tricks based on their experiences. We asked them a few questions about their photography: 

Acorn Woodpecker © Gerald & Buff Corsi

You both had careers prior to pursing nature photography full time. How did you originally get into photography? 

It's been a lifelong interest for both of us. We actually met in a photo workshop about 40 years ago at the California Academy of Sciences.

What do you find most rewarding about nature photography? 

We find ourselves looking more closely at nature's beauty. 

Why would you recommend nature photography as a hobby? 

It takes us to interesting places with new experiences on each trip and makes us appreciate the variety of life on earth.

Lioness and cub © Gerald & Buff Corsi

What is one of your most memorable photos? 

We had been in the Masai Mara (Kenya) for several weeks and had the chance to watch and follow a lioness with her three newborn cubs--from the place she gave birth to them to eventually bringing them to her pride and introducing them to their father. The photo we enjoy most from that was the lioness carrying her littlest cub which seemed to need a ride from mom sometimes. 

Is there a photo you missed and wished you had gotten? 

Many photos have been missed for various reasons. We've been fortunate to be able to return to favorite places and try again.

Anything else you would like to add? 

Nature photography is a great hobby, but in today's market, unfortunately, not necessarily a financially rewarding career.

www.pepperwoodpreserve.org

Wildflowers in Watercolor with Pamela Glasscock

By Tom Greco

Hooker's Fairy Bells (Disporum hookerii)

Pamela Glasscock paints with a great amount of attention to detail, capturing each delicate feature of her wildflower subjects with skill and patience. Yet there is far more to her magnificent paintings than botanical accuracy – there is a story hidden within each image that reflects the people and places involved along the way to its artful transcription into watercolor.

Her subjects come from diverse sources: from local gardens to wilderness areas on the other side of the world. These varied sources of inspiration lend a subtle degree of personality to each flower, a sense of character furthered by Pam’s own lens of observation.

Shooting Star
(Dodecatheon
hendersonii)

Though it is important for Pam that her flower portraits are botanically correct, she does not measure petals and leaves as a scientific illustrator might. “What I’m trying to get at is a sense of life,” says Pam, “and to recreate the experience of looking at the actual flower.” To this end, Pam’s art captures flowers at various stages throughout their lifecycle – not just at the peak of their bloom. This adds an element of complexity to her multiple flower compositions, which contain patterns and themes that may not be perceived at first glance.

Detail: Hound's Tongue
(Cynoglossum grande)

Works like these typically originate with Pam choosing a particular flower of interest, and capturing it on a spacious piece of watercolor paper. At this point, what might eventually occupy the rest of the paper may be far from solidified in her mind – perhaps difficult to imagine given the incredible complexity of the end product. “It’s important to me to have that uncertainty and suspense about what is going in next,” says Pam. “You want to be surprised yourself and you want the people looking at the work to have the same feeling. Not planning out the whole composition ahead of time gives a sense of adventure, and even danger, to a long and meticulous process.”

Pam’s primary artistic focus has been on wildflowers for the past 10 years. Her artistic roots stretch back to silverpoint drawing as an independent project in college, which she continued for ten years in New York before beginning to experiment with watercolor under her own tutelage. Watercolor has been her preferred medium since: “I’m really interested in watercolor drawing because of its immediacy and simplicity,” says Pam. “It is all about observation.”

April/May Grasslands and Open Woods

For her most recent project, A Pepperwood Anthology: Wildflowers in Watercolor, Pam visited the preserve multiple times during the spring of 2012, when Pepperwood’s bountiful wildflower displays were at their peak. 

Pam's paintings will be on display at Pepperwood’s Dwight Center for Conservation Science Gallery during our 5^th annual Wildflower Festival on April 21, 2013 from 9am to 4pm, and by appointment through May 5, 2013.

Pam will also teach a class on painting spring flowers in watercolor at Pepperwood on May 5th. Please click here for more information!

Seasonal Changes of Pepperwood with Bill Gittins

By Tom Greco

Pepperwood December 17, 2011 Solstice (11x14)

If you went looking for Bill Gittins on any equinox or solstice in the past year, you would have found him at Pepperwood with a canvas and his oil paints. As a Pepperwood Steward, Bill has been leading a plein air painting group of four artists, who have just completed a project entitled “Seasonal Changes of Pepperwood” that will be featured at Pepperwood’s Wildflower Festival on April 21^st. This collection of paintings captures the changing seasons near the Redwood Canyon section of the preserve, and beautifully illustrates the ancient connection between science and the arts explored by the likes of Galileo and da Vinci.

Pepperwood March 12, 2012  Equinox (11x14)

Bill Gittins has lived in Santa Rosa since 1973 and began painting in the mid 80’s. Basically a self-taught artist, Bill began with watercolors and acrylics before finding favor in the complex texture of oil paints. His vibrant landscapes truly capture the spirit of Sonoma County: “There’s such a variety,” says Bill, describing the abundance of subject matter in our region. “There’s the coast, old barns, vineyards, hills, back roads.  A lot of my paintings were done on back roads,” explains Bill, referring specifically to Riebli Road, a unique and winding road in north east Santa Rosa close to where he used to live.

As to his preferred painting style, Bill enjoys experimenting with different color palettes, often choosing to represent an object in a different tone than may be initially observed by the eye. “I prefer a looser approach than realism,” says Bill. “I like things with a lot of color. If I go out in the field and things are dull, I like to brighten them up.”

Pepperwood June 22, 2012 Solstice (11x14)

Bill first visited Pepperwood when author and longtime Press Democrat writer Gaye LeBaron gave a talk at the Bechtel House, while the Dwight Center was being built. He really enjoyed the sweeping vistas and rolling hills – and wanted to paint them! To get an opportunity to paint on the property he enrolled in an art class being held at the preserve and then took “Bio 85: Natural History of Pepperwood,” a two-semester class offered in conjunction with the Santa Rosa Junior College that constitutes the first step to becoming a Pepperwood Steward. He has been a regular at Pepperwood since, creating spectacular renditions of preserve landscapes and generously offering his assistance at classes, hikes and events.

Bill and the other painters, which include Marsha Connell, Phil Salyer and Dale Wiley began their inaugural landscapes of the “Seasonal Changes of Pepperwood” project on the December 2011 winter solstice. There had been very little rain that winter, so Bill’s paint brush recorded mostly gold colored hills, largely uncharacteristic of the season that is typically Sonoma County’s wettest. By his March expedition the green hues had returned, along with a herd of cows (part of Pepperwood’s grazing program) that also found their way onto his canvas. “What I discovered is that the dates of the solstices are really the ‘beginning dates’ of these seasons.  We should have painted at the mid-point between the solstice and the equinox.” says Bill.  

Pepperwood September 22, 2012 Equinox (11x14)

Bill’s art, along with that of three of the other artists, will be on display, and for sale, at Pepperwood’s Wildflower Festival, held on Sunday, April 21^st from 9am to 4pm. A portion of any sale at the event will be donated to the Pepperwood Foundation. You can also view a more expansive grouping of Bill’s works during the annual “Art at the Source” open studio program (Studio 76b) during the first and second weekends of June, and then again at his studio during ARTrails, held the second and third weekends of October. 

For more information about Bill and to view is online image gallery, please visit Bill’s website, www.billgittins.com.