I think the end result is extraordinary.
Last July blog follower Kathleen Welker contacted me about purchasing some prints for the new home she and her husband Brian were having built in the mountains of another western state. I’m sometimes, though not always, reluctant to sell prints for reasons I’ve explained in the past but Kathleen’s ambitious project sounded intriguing and in my correspondence with her I could tell that she’d be a wonderful client to work with on such a complex and challenging project so I agreed to join her in tackling it.
Over time the project grew into an order of fourteen 9 x 12 and eight 12 x 16 prints of hawks native to their area to be hung on a wall in the guest room of their new home that she refers to as the “Ron Dudley Hawk Suite Wall”. Species represented in the collection include Red-tailed Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Ferruginous Hawks and Northern Harriers.
Recently the project was completed and Kathleen sent me a couple of cell phone photos to show me how it turned out. I was so impressed I asked her if I could share one of them on Feathered Photography and she agreed.
Copyright Kathleen Welker – Photo used by permission
Kathleen and Brian seem extraordinarily pleased with how it turned out and I can certainly see why. Kathleen told me “the entry to the guest suite is visible from many areas of our home, so this wall is certainly a showpiece”, Size and scale are hard to determine in a photo like this but to give you a feeling for it that’s a king-sized bed and Kathleen referred to the entire presentation as “massive”.
I think Kathleen’s arrangement is stunning and she did it all herself. I can’t imagine the work and creative juices involved to come up with such a splendidly artistic arrangement of 22 prints of differing sizes, colors and compositions and have it turn out so well. I love the symmetry and simplicity of the shape of the collective presentation combined with its internal complexity. To me it’s almost like a colorful geometric mosaic whose individual pieces are large enough to take on a life of their own.
As the photographer I’m delighted to have my images play a significant role in a project such as this and then to be able to see the end result. I debated whether I should publish a post like this one for fear it would come across as boastful but I’m of the opinion that Kathleen’s efforts contribute as much to the overall presentation as my own.
And I thought at least some of my readers would enjoy seeing images of mine that many will recognize being used in a practical and aesthetic manner.
Ron.
Love everything about this… her having the courage to ask you for the pictures…for you having a good feeling about her project…and the beautiful end results from the both of you 😁 And she is lucky enough to have a story of each picture that you took❗️
“her having the courage to ask you for the pictures”
That’s an interesting story, Diana. To her credit Kathleen had read my post (link in my text above) about why I’m sometimes reluctant to do prints for clients before she ever approached me so she knew it could go either way. But she threaded the needle skillfully and with finesse so there’s no way I could turn her down. And I’m glad I didn’t.
I use the word “courage” is because that’s how I felt approaching a local photographer about a picture of our Bald Eagles he took. Luckily for me, he knew my love for our eagles.
The picture hangs proudly in my living room 🥰
Fabulous display. Definitely a collaborative piece. 🙂
Definitely.
Just Uber WOW! I could get lost in that room for a long, long time! SPECTACULAR both from the photographer and the organizer/dreamer!
“I could get lost in that room for a long, long time”
Knowing you I’ll bet you could, Laura.
WOW.
This guest at least would retire early to bed and be reluctant to get up again.
Ha, I might have the tendency to do the same thing.
A+
Thanks, Teach.
What an extraordinary achievement by you Ron and what a wonderful display by Kathy. Better than museum quality because the images are lived with each day. Thank you both.
Good point about them being lived with each day, Elizabeth.
Really stunning! Huge applause to you both!
Thank you, Jeri.
Well done to both artists!
Thanks, April.
The Welkers must entertain some very special guests, or at least they will feel like it once they’ve stayed in that room. I sure wasn’t expecting to see this as I scrolled down to the photo. Extraordinary, inspired and inspiring, extremely thought-provoking. It would look great in an art gallery, but to see it in someones home. Whew.
I’m glad you were impressed, Lyle. I think it’s deserving of plenty of ooh’s and aah’s. .
Beautiful!! What a lovely job she did with your fantastic photos. Definitely gives me inspiration on what can be done with a wall.
She sure did.
This is really stunning. The shiplap walls and the color are fantastic as is the pickup of color in the room accents. Well done, Kathleen! And well done, Ron!
Especially Kathleen!
Congrats Ron for your inestimable contribution to this piece of art. This wall is just gorgeous and I don’t know anyone who would not be proud to have it inside their home.
Thanks very much, Laval.
Perfection indeed! Everything is balanced beautifully; the picture placement is well designed. I especially like the ‘no-frame’ look of the pictures…there isn’t the distraction of a frame diverting your eye away from the picture. Truly a beautiful photomontage! I can’t imagine it without the perfection of your photos though. As quilter I really love the addition of the two pillows adding the pop of contrasting color and texture.
Thanks, Kathy. Kathleen is obviously a multi-talented woman.
Ron – thank you for sharing our project with your readers. The entire process with you has been such a joyful experience – including our changes, several back and forth about each photo’s quality to support the print size, the gorgeous paper you recommended, and my choice to mount the photos to avoid glass glare. My husband Brian and I are so thrilled with the result. The weeks & months of “stalking Ron Dudley the bird blogger” (according to my husband) resulted in a glorious collaboration with you. Am forever grateful to you for sharing your art with us. Our friends and family will enjoy the ‘Ron Dudley Hawk Suite’ wall for years to come. K 🙂
Kathleen, as you know I’ve had a few stinkers as clients over the years but you were truly a joy to work with and that made all the difference for me. And I appreciate that Brian seemed supportive of us both through the entire process. I’m sure I’d like him too.
Knowing that this many photos of mine will be enjoyed by others for a long time allows this nearly 74 year old photographer the most significant skirmish with immortality I’ve had yet… 🙂
SO impressive in all ways>the fabulous hand-picked favorite photos of Ron’s…and goodness >the arrangement on your wall must have taken a huge amount of thought /measuring and time! A mathematical challenge to say the least❣️
Hi Carolyn – It was about 3 hours of love and a little frustration to hang the photos. The shiplap on the walls were certainly a help 🙂
That’s what I keep thinking about, Carolyn – the skill and talent needed to come up with the concept and then execute it so well.
That’s the best kind of compliment that I can think of–to have a person of
such obvious good taste essentially design a room with your work serving
as its focal point– and chosen as a group instead of random and piecemeal, as is most usually the process. That
lovely gray-blue color is an especially perfect hue to set off the warm
golden tones which so often characterize your best images. Compliments
to you BOTH !
Kris, good eye.
Kathleen’s choice of images was far from random and piecemeal. It sounds like she spent hundreds of hours over many months going through “all” of my hawk photos online to pick out the ones that worked best for her. And then she had to choose substitutes for some that wouldn’t or couldn’t work for a variety of reasons (composition issues, sharpness issues for large prints for example). It was a lot of work for us both but especially for Kathleen.
Very impressive display of beautiful photos!
Thanks, Mark.
Hello Ron!
Can you please share where the Welkers had the printing done?
Thanks, Zoë
Zoe, the Welkers didn’t have the printing done. I did. For reasons related to copyright protection I never send out my high resolution files to clients. That’s the easiest way to lose control over my images I know of.
The printing was done by my favorite print shop here in Salt Lake City, Pixels Foto and Frame. They’ve done all of my printing for years because their work is high quality and because I really like the folks who work there – all of them. I had the prints shipped to Kathleen and then she sent them out to be mounted.
A beautiful wall of wings!
I like the creative way you put that, Mary.
Fantastic! Congratulation to you both. I know how much time, thought, care and expense must have gone into creating the “Ron Dudley Hawk Wall.” Add that to the thousands of hours you’ve spent in the field and perfecting your art and you have something truly extraordinary!
Thanks very much Sharon, from both of us I’m sure.
Hi,
This is a museum/art gallery presentation. The foundation being your splendid photographs.
Kaye
Well said, Kaye.
Ron, while memories are great, prints are even better. This selection of photos surely means something to you personally. She did an awesome job with the placement of them, an artist in her own right. How else could you make something look so beautiful on a wall?
Until you actually print one of your own photos out big to put on a wall, the enjoyment of that moment doesn’t quite feel the same. As soon as it gets printed and framed for the wall, it takes on new meaning. At least it does for me.
I put off printing many of my photos to hang somewhere for years. I finally started a selection process for my office at work that surely included the story behind each one. That was an important part of my process for what was included. While each has a story to tell on their own, I wanted to be able to talk to people who asked questions about where, what and why for each one.
Of course it helped that the owner loves photography and shoots a lot too. He has a large 24″ Epson printer that I set up in what we call the “Print Room” next to my office. I’ve always maintained it for him. He has some rather large and beautiful 24″ x 36″ photos, metal and others, hanging around the main lobby and his office.
Recently he approached me about printing some of my own photos using that printer. I jumped at the chance and now have an office full of 24×18 photos on the wall. I asked him recently what he thought about me adding another row of prints around my office. He said “you can’t have too many photos”. Here I go again.
I agree completely, Doug. The difference between a quality photo at a small size, especially online, and one printed large and well is often close to mind-blowing.
That’s another reason I think quality (synonym for expensive when it comes to photography) are so very important.
WOW! Wonderful display of the beautiful photos! Lot of work on both sides but well worth it! 🙂
I think so too, Judy.
Hey, you can’t go wrong with a Ron Dudley Hawk Wall. I have no interior decorating credentials, but I think she did an outstanding job there of arranging the framed photos. They look great against that blue wall and the little hawk pillow adds the perfect finishing touch. You should be proud to have someone chose your photos to decorate a room like this.
Everett, I agree that the pillow is a nice touch. To me the bird on the pillow resembles a magpie more than anything else and for me it kind of completes an ecological circle of species – a scavenger amongst predators. .
You’re right Ron – I did not look closely and just assumed it was a hawk
Magnificent! I love it
Good. I’m sure Kathleen will be pleased.
It’s beautiful! and her choice of a slate blue horizontal plank-background sets off that photo collection spectacularly.
I agree, Terri.
How wonderful when the process and product are both so super!,