The Full Circle: Panoramic Photographs of the American West by Gus Foster

June 4 through August 24, 2002
Draper Museum of Natural History Photography Gallery

Spinning around with his camera, photographer Gus Foster captures landscape in a grand sweep of 360 degrees… or more. Unbroken circles, at times seizing duplicate images of a tree, a mountain peak, a distant herd of grazing elk, allow an all-encompassing view of the world, unusual in its scope - the "surround-sound" equivalent of visual art.

In search of dramatic scenery, Foster has tramped and camped for the past 23 years in remote areas of the Continental Divide, photographing the Rocky Mountains from Canada to New Mexico. Three donkeys and 2-3 wilderness-wise friends often carry his cumbersome gear, including a 70-pound camera pack, to summits of mountains and high mountain meadows, where just the right angle, light and shadow, and most stunning view, may be found. Blizzards, ferocious lightening storms, and damaging hail are not uncommon companions to Foster and his stalwart crew, in high reaches. While it takes just 30 seconds for his panoramic scanning camera to complete its 360-degree journey, it may take hours for optimal conditions to appear, before photographing may begin. Tiny vibrations during a take can ruin a picture - but if all goes well, a perfect image (wall-size, crystal clear prints, often measuring 3-feet high by 16-feet wide) rewards the team's perseverance and patience.

A Wisconsin native, Foster majored in art history at Yale, graduating in 1963. Immediately following graduation, he became curator of prints and drawings at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (1963-1972). When he moved to Los Angeles in 1972, a whole new world of photography opened for him, and he set up his own photographic art studio. He was intrigued by time, continuity, and motion, and the deep revelations of quality photographs and movies. Four years later, he moved to Taos, New Mexico, where he presently resides. There, he purchased his first panoramic camera, began a passion-filled journey into an old, distinguished photographic technique, and became an accomplished outdoorsman. In his Taos studio, he develops his film on custom-designed equipment that allows large formats. An insatiable artist, Foster is always planning his "next" venture.

An exhibition of his work may be viewed in the Draper Museum of Natural History beginning June 4 through August 24, 2002. Please contact Dr. Bob Pickering for additional information.

References

·The American Rockies: Photographs by Gus Foster (1999). The Albuquerque Museum Exhibition (May 16-August 22, 1999), 200 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104 (80 pp.).

·Enyeart, James L. (2002). Photographers, Writers, and the American Scene: Visions of Passage. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Arena Editions.