I thought it would be interesting to show, from time to time, the artwork that has been acquired by collectors. My photos are used many times a day by publishers of magazines, website and for advertising, but there is a certain frisson from learning that my work has been appreciated so much that someone wants to see it on their wall! It is what makes me continue to work on improving my art!
My most recent sales seem to have been focused around West Virginia. That is perhaps not surprising as I live in the state and have been building my portfolio of West Virginia scenes and landscapes over the past few years. I’m also active on Facebook groups interested in the area, which all helps with recognition of my work. I was really pleased to see sales of three local scenes recently, starting with this one of the mist swirling in the Cheat River valley upstream of the lake in Morgantown:
This was sold to a collector from Morgantown as a framed print which measured 46 inches wide! I did speak to him, and he was very pleased with how it looked on his wall at home. This particular image was a panorama taken by a drone with multiple photos from the spot being combined to allow a larger print without losing any details. I always liked this particular image, focusing as it does in the slowly changing in trees in the fall with the mist rising off the water in the early morning. The drone, of course, provides a viewpoint that few people have actually seen before, which is intriguing!
Morgantown also featured in another sale, but this time to a collector in Springsboro, Ohio. This image is of the super pink Harvest Moon rising above the Coliseum and Evansdale campus of WVU back in April 2020.
I was lucky with this image as the clouds were quite close to the horizon and another 30 minutes or so, would have hidden the moon in its entirety. As it is, they do provide a nice framing effect on the image, balanced by the darker trees in the lower right.
And, yes, I did see a final Morgantown sale just yesterday, which prompted me to write this article! This one is of the overlook at the Cooper’s Rock State Forest, above the Cheat River outside Morgantown.
This one was ordered as a 48-inch-wide metal print, which I am sure will look spectacular on the wall. The collector lives just outside Morgantown in Westover, and what is intriguing is that a friend of mine also sold a similar sized metal print of this same overlook yesterday as well! It would be really nice to find out, one day, how these have been displayed! Once again, this is a drone image and provides a view of the rocky overlook and the fall colors of the trees from a viewpoint that has probably never been seen before. Helicopters do fly up the gorge, but generally at a greater height, and the drone here gives a unique perspective on a well-loved location.
Jumping states and themes, a wholesale buyer purchased this image of the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. I believe this means that it could well be destined for a hotel or office in Nashville, perhaps?
This one was taken with my feet firmly on the ground! Or at least the camera was firmly fixed to a tripod standing on the John Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge. This famous bridge, also known as the Shelby Street Crossing, leaves downtown Nashville over the river. We were only in Nashville for one evening and I was lucky to see both a spectacular sunset over the city as well as a nice clear night for this image of the home of the Nashville Titans.
Finally, an image sold as a 55-inch HD metal print to a collector from Victoria in Canada, perhaps making use of the free shipping to the USA and Canada! It is always intriguing how people actually find my work and this particular one has only been online for a few weeks. However, I am certainly glad that they did, and I hope they enjoy the reminder of their time on the beautiful island of Kauai.
This particular location is one of my favorites on Kauai. It is actually just on the side of the road on the way to Princeville in the north and was one of the places used in the filming of the original Jurassic Park movie. But in the early morning as the sun rises, you get lovely light coming from the side that highlights the curving stream coming down from the mountains. I did create a more panoramic image of this location, but I think this one with the birds highlighted against the darker slopes of the mountains is an intriguing view. All I needed was the dinosaurs roaming in the fields!
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Bob Decker
9 Apr 2022Congratulations on the sales. WV is a beautiful place indeed. I pass through it frequently but seldom stop to make photos. That is my loss! One of my favorite sales over the years was when a fellow photographer asked for one of my prints to hang in her home. Their is no greater compliment than a peer wanting to own some of your work.
Steve Heap
9 Apr 2022Thanks Bob – totally agree about the nice feelings when someone wants your work. A fellow photographer is icing on the cake!
Purple Rosemary
10 Apr 2022Congratulations on your sales! Beautiful images, Steve! I am sure they look amazing as large metal prints!
Alexios Ntounas
10 Apr 2022Wonderful images! I am sure they will look great as metal prints!
Steve Heap
10 Apr 2022Thanks Alexios! I would like to actually see them that large!
Deb Beausoleil
17 Apr 2022These images are fantastic, Steve – congratulations on your sales! I enjoyed your post and that you were able to speak to the buyer to get feedback. Fantastic image of Nissan Stadium! When traveling through a new area, I often have a hard time finding the perfect vantage point. This bridge provides the best view – well done!
Steve Heap
18 Apr 2022Thanks, Deb! Sometimes, a drone isn’t needed!
Louis Dallara Fine Art Photography
6 May 2022Great post, gives me plenty of food for thought. I will try and collect what I remember sold to collector/art buyers, and make a post on my blog.
Steve Heap
6 May 2022Yes, I think it might interest potential buyers!
jim hughes
9 Dec 2022All of those will look great at LARGE sizes. And big prints seem to be the thing today. I was once at an art fair where a photographer was showing huge city skyline prints and overheard a customer ask him “do you have anything bigger”?
Steve Heap
9 Dec 2022I absolutely agree, Jim. I’m always a little sad when someone buys a framed 8×10 image – it does make me wonder if they wanted something bigger, but it was too expensive or perhaps they had a small space to fill? I’ll never know!