Elk No. 1 - Limited Edition 1 of 25 Photograph

In this series I combine photographs I take of animals and vintage wallpapers. I travel to abandoned homesteads, gritty ghost towns, and buildings dripping with history to photograph these exquisite wallpapers - these glorious relics of an effort made by people who wished to enjoy a simple bit of beauty inside their dwelling on the harsh and hostile American frontier. But time has had its way with these buildings, and in my own way, I take comfort in helping the grace and grandeur of these relics to live on. {see the short video of the story behind this series on the home page of my website} Pictured is a bull elk I photographed in Yellowstone National Park. I photographed this wallpaper in the ghost town of Bannack, Montana in the Greater House. Augustus Graeter arrived in Bannack from Nebraska in 1862 and built this home shortly thereafter. Through the years additions were made as various families continued to live there even as the town itself was in decline. The solid colored background is the painted plaster walls of the abandoned Hotel Meade, also in Bannack, which was founded in 1862 after gold was discovered along Grasshopper Creek. The town was the first Capitol of the Montana Territory. It is printed on exquisite Belgian linen which provides a tactile texture and incredible detail. This particular linen has inherent imprefections in the way it is woven. Therefore each print has its own unique texture, unlike traditional photographic paper in which the prints are identical to one another. The custom frame is made of solid hardwood maple and is rubbed with Danish oil to create a subtle, contemporary look which compliments this piece.