Kevin Sebold, Antigua
Member Since November 2012
Artist Statement Growing up in Minnesota, the reflective qualities of the state's many lakes were what first drew me to photography; as a professional photographer I still focus mostly on landscapes. For most of the past seven years I have been lucky enough to be working in the Antigua valley in southern Guatemala, at the base of a huge two-and-a-half-mile high volcano, Agua, and just east of two more, Fuego and Acatenango. Hiking in the area provides breathtaking views, and I have especially come to love climbing Fuego and Acatenango- so much so that I've spent more time on top on them than anyone else I know of except for a couple of guides and the dozen or so men from the nearest town who sometimes ferry gear up for tourists. It's not for everyone; I have spent entire nights shivering in constant winds, squinting to avoid dust, breathing in icy, thin air. I have been rained on, snowed on, and robbed by men with guns. And time after time I have hauled myself, my gear, and a few days' food and water more than a vertical mile uphill. But when you're on top of these volcanoes you're the tallest thing for hundreds of miles; you can watch clouds from above, the stars are much brighter since you're far above the city lights, and you have a 360-degree view of the horizon. And sometimes, if you're lucky, there's a light show from one of the more rarely seen sources of light; not sunlight, starlight, or artificial light- light from the heat of the earth's molten core.
Here are some of my favorites of the photographs I have taken of Guatemala's volcanoes over the years, most of them of Fuego and Acatenango. I have also included galleries from two other places that are dear to my heart, Glacier National Park and 'up at the lake' in northern Minnesota.
None of my work is digitally enhanced or modified except for the occasional crop around the edges. Not that I have anything against HDR or other digital enhancements- they have certainly changed the field of photography (as have digital cameras themselves) and have made it easier to create beautiful images and thus have made many more people excited about photography than ever before, which is great. I just personally prefer the challenge of finding those rare moments where the light conditions are perfect and no digital enhancement or image manipulation is necessary in order to create a well-composed photograph.
Thanks and enjoy!
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