Rick Pieros has been traveling the rural and wild areas of the western United States since his youth. Drawn to the remnants of the American West’s rich and colorful past, Rick switched from a path pursuing purely nature photography, to follow his passion of documenting the quickly vanishing artifacts of the western experience. From antique gas pumps to ghost towns, vintage automobiles to historic ski hamlets, Rick’s images provide a nostalgic glimpse of the past.
He currently lives in the Wasatch Mountains with his wife and two daughters.
Artist Statement:
I have been traveling the rural and wild areas of the western United States since my youth. Drawn to the remnants of the American West’s rich and colorful past, I switched from a path pursuing purely nature photography, to follow my passion of documenting the quickly vanishing artifacts of the western experience. My current emphasis is on abstract details of weathered detritus; miner’s shacks, abandoned automobiles, mining equipment, and other items left behind to be patinated by the elements.
The work represented here was photographed using traditional film methods and are hand-printed under my direct supervision by Borge Andersen & Associates. I use a variety of camera mediums including 35mm and medium format cameras, including Nikon, Canon & Mamyia products using primarily Fuji films.
Any “digital darkroom” work is strictly limited to traditional darkroom techniques such as contrast control, color correction, and removal of dust from film surface. There is no digital manipulation to alter the image from the original slide. Images are printed on a Fuji Crystal Archive and Kodak Endura Metallic photographic papers for longevity. All photographic prints are hand-signed and numbered in editions of 125, 250, and 500.
