Sam Abell
Come sit and listen as Sam Abell, one of National Geographic's top photographers, shows some of his favorite images and shares stories about how he captured them.
Friday September 19th 2008
7:00pm - 9:00pm
pictureline retail store
305 W 700 S
Salt Lake City, UT
Bio (Canon)
Sam Abell's thirty-year career has been dedicated to achieving artistic expression through documentary photography. He has pursued his goals primarily through his lengthy, in-depth coverages for National Geographic magazine and its Book Division. At the same time, he has maintained a career as an artist, teacher, and author.
The raw material of Abell's photography comes from close contact with the world, especially austere, remote regions. To affirm and, in fact, emphasize his commitment to what actually exists, he has chosen to work in color and in a strict documentary tradition.
He has applied himself, particularly, to the photography of cultural landscape: He explores ways in which places can be purely recorded, with images simultaneously shaped by the photographer's imagination.
In addition, he has maintained a personal black-and-white photographic diary that documents the life behind the artistic process. In 1990 Mr. Abell's work was the subject of a one-man exhibition at the International Center of Photography, New York City. A companion book, Stay This Moment, was published at that time.
In addition to his photography Mr. Abell is a member of the board of the director of the Santa Fe Center For Photography, the George Eastman House, and the University of Virginia Art Museum. In 2002 he collaborated with Leah Bendavid-Val on a retrospective of his life and work titled Sam Abell:The Photographic Life., published by Rizzoli. He is also the author of the book Seeing Gardens, published in 2001.
Currently Mr. Abell is photographing the Amazon headwaters for a book project. An extensive online interview with Mr. Abell and gallery of his images can be found on the Digital Journalist website (Digital Journalist+Sam Abell). Mr. Abell is represented by the Kathleen Ewing Gallery, Washington DC.
Bio (National Geographic)
Sam Abell learned photography from his father at their home in Sylvania, Ohio, where he was born on February 19th, 1945. He graduated in 1969 from the University of Kentucky in Lexington with a B.A.
Abell has worked with the National Geographic Society since 1970 and has photographed more than 20 articles on various cultural and wilderness subjects. He has also lectured on photography and exhibited his images to audiences throughout the world.
In 1990, Eastman Kodak published a retrospective monograph of his photographs titled Stay This Moment: The Photographs of Sam Abell. A companion exhibit of his work was shown at New York City's International Center of Photography in November of that year.
Abell's book credits include Contemplative Gardens, The Inward Garden: Creating a Place of Beauty and Meaning, Australia: Journey Through a Timeless Land, and Seeing Gardens. In 1998 he collaborated with author Stephen Ambrose on Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery and again in 2002 on The Mississippi: River of History. That same year, he worked with author Leah Bendavid-Val to produce a retrospective of his life and work titled Sam Abell: The Photographic Life. Two additional book projects, Four Stories and The Life of a Photographer, are scheduled for publication in October 2007 and October 2008, respectively.
Sam Abell lives in Albemarle County, Virginia, with his wife Denise.