Some of my earliest memories were helping my dad rock developing trays in our home darkroom at age 8, and I was mesmerized as images would magically appear. I was instantly in love with the process, and I’ve been a fine art photographer for over 40 years.
I learned the process of seeing, exposure, and developing fine art black and white prints at an early age from my father. He was active in the Carmel, CA photography scene in the late 60's and early 70's, learning directly from the great masters in artistic photography – knowledge I’m very fortunate he handed on to me. My birthplace was near Carmel, where I was also figuratively born as a photographer, shooting years later at Point Lobos.
I had my first taste of early success in photography while in high school in Portland, OR, when I was awarded an art scholarship, paying for my first year at University of Oregon’s Art & Architecture School. Over the 30+ years since college, I’ve been based in the Portland area continuing to perfect my composition and technical expertise with all formats of film and digital photography as I travel extensively throughout the Western US and the world.
My purpose is to help everybody see amazing things, as close to their true nature as possible, and ultimately make everyone curious about this incredible, mysterious, and beautiful universe around us. I'm fortunate to have the unique skill to be able to identify and compose this beauty through an artistic medium like photography, capturing a specific moment in time. I keep any darkroom and digital editing to a minimum in all my images, with a preference for natural light and original subject matter. I love abstracts and images with movement, and many who view my work think I've heavily edited the original image later - I haven't, which makes abstracts so much fun.
With today’s digital photography, there is an almost absurd ability to instantly create an unlimited number of electronic and physical images - calendars, t-shirts, even coffee mugs. If he were alive today, I think Brett Weston would have some choice words for the proliferation of 'photographs' by snapshot photographers, not artists! I have selected a much different path to distributing my works, one I believe no fine-art photographic artist alive today is doing with their entire body of work. Starting in September 2019, with an online gallery refresh and new focus, all my new prints are true originals, editioned 1 of 1, providing patrons maximum collectability and value. Original prints not sold in my 2-month online exhibits are no longer available for acquisition, and they may only be seen afterward on my site, gallery shows, or in future book publications. I will be distributing my art this way for the remainder of my life. I decided to take this path to encourage and reward early collectors, get the immediate feedback and critique which is necessary to grow as an artist, plus it forces me to always be producing fresh, new art.
I'm frequently in museums and galleries looking at all mediums of art, absorbing unique ideas and concepts. There are far too many great artists going undiscovered or unfunded, so I have made it an imperative in my life to work with schools, charities, and non-profit galleries providing support to the photographic and fine art communities. I donate 5+% of all print sales profits evenly between fine art and photographic causes, with another 5+% directly supporting other worthwhile programs and individuals.
I work out of my home studio in the Alberta Arts District in Portland, OR. I have two great teenage sons who help in preparing my monthly releases. When not in the studio, I'm traveling frequently to experience new places and to bring home some brilliant images. I don't like to write much about my photos, or photography in general - I want my images to stand on their merits. I do feel it is necessary to give you a little more than the normal 'short-form' artist's statement or CV. Yes, I've received many awards and won art competitions, and I have exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the West Coast, so what - what I have done lately? I think it is important you understand that I have the rare passion to always be creating unique, new artwork, and will do so until my last breath.
I appreciate your patronage and encourage all feedback from collectors and interested eyes. I view my artwork as a never-ending dialogue between a combination of what the universe presented, my original vision, and a spark within each viewer. So, if we haven’t connected yet, please reach out through the Contact page to communicate directly, subscribe for new releases and gallery shows, or to just say hi and let me know what you think of my images.
- Scott 'West' Schaerer