Robert Gebbie Photography (RGebbiePhoto) opens gallery on Fine Art America.

Robert Gebbie Photography (RGebbiePhoto) opens gallery on Fine Art America.

Photographer, artist, author and personal development mentor Robert Gebbie opens his gallery on Fine Art America with soul searching and emotionally charged photographs, exploring the emotions and inner evolution of humanity through the individual. Included in this gallery are some of our favorite picks from the well known “Man” series which have been published in the book, “I Creator, a personal journey”, as well as a newly released “Couple” series that is still in the process of shooting and development.

Please feel free to visit our newly opened gallery on Fine Art America at -
http://robert-gebbie.artistwebsites.com

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White Christmas; Photographs from Vancouver, WA, winter storm 2008.

While a snowstorm can cause head aches and sore backs it can also bring some wonderful winter images. Braving the chill I took a short walk around our neighborhood snapping a few photographs along the way, from near to far the world was covered in white.

A Visit With A Friend

Recently, my wife and I scheduled a photo session with Tony, a friend of ours. Initially we planned on doing a kitchen set with food preparation images, since Tony was a chef years ago. We arrived, bags and cases full of lights, umbrellas, cameras and meters, eager and ready to get some great food shots. We had been discussing the possibilities of peppers and other vegetables that had been recently harvested from his backyard garden. Beautiful colorful food, clean prep shots, chopping and dicing, the potential was exciting.

Barely awake, Tony invited us in. It was morning and there was a slight chill in the house. We got to the kitchen and set down our equipment as Tony quickly passed out steaming hot cups of rich coffee.

“Let me get a cup down, and I’ll get a fire going to warm up the place.” We moved to the living room, Tony in front of the fireplace, slowly sipping coffee and clearing the pit. The conversation was jovial, good friends catching up on the past week’s events. This was a shoot for our stock portfolios and we set aside the entire day for the visit. We sipped at our coffee over the next half hour, then Tony grabbed his boots, jacket and gloves, and went outside to grab some wood. He came back, arms full, and started stacking them into the fireplace. Then he grabbed a small hatchet and split off a few pieces for kindling. As the fire started to spread, he sat back on the hearth and sighed, contented. I cannot remember what our conversation had been about, but looking up from my steaming mug, I knew there would be no food in the pictures we shot today.

“What’s up?” Tony looked confused as I went to the kitchen for my equipment and started setting up my light stand. My wife giggled and said, “I think he’s inspired! Just keep talking and pretend he’s not here.” I grinned as I pulled the lens cover off of my camera.

Our cups were emptied and filled several times, the conversation continued as the fire burned brightly. Morning faded to afternoon as I held my camera and snapped off shot after shot. We all had a great visit and the images that were created captured moments in time that are very real. The reflected emotions and thought in a man’s face carry far more impact than the commercial-style session we had planned.

The Creation of Man: How To Legally Shoot your Husband

We needed more models. We had our friends in front of the camera, and they were good for commercial images, but we needed something more. We had a sense that we were headed into something special, but we weren’t quite sure what it was going to be.

I decided to put Robert in front of the camera. You see, I adore my husband. I find him quite handsome, but not in your traditional sense. He has more of a rugged handsomeness, rather than traditional beauty. He would play a good cowboy, or bodyguard. Robert is also an ex-bodybuilder, he trained all natural for almost ten years. We have a home gym, and I have spotted him a number of times. I am always impressed by muscle memory and how, after just ten minutes, the blood rushes back and his muscles fill out. It’s very exciting to watch his body go from extremely lean to very nicely ripped. But we didn’t want to do a body shoot just yet. We had some other things in mind.

Robert and I are extreme opposites. But we do connect completely, and we share a passion I’ve never known before. We rolled down the black background, he took my hand, asked if I was ready, and gave me a kiss. I took a few test shots to make sure we had the lighting we wanted, and we began.

We started with contemplation shots, Hard Life shots. Robert drinking his coffee, staring off deep in thought. Then we started to roll. The shoot was mostly silent, no words were needed, I was an extension of him. I watched through the lens, and was allowed to document this personal side of my husband, the side that only I saw. The side of him that he hides, the part of Man that exists, but dares not peek out.

I dare not speak of the driving force for the emotions he felt, that is not my story to tell. But it was a great loss, and a heavy heart, that drove the shoot. I peered through the lens, stopping only to wipe the tears off the camera so I could see to focus.

Finally, we had to break from what we were doing, we were both mentally and physically drained. Robert went in to take a shower, and I went back to working on my computer. When he came out of the shower, he shaved down bald. Then we began shooting the Man Series. Completely nude, he twisted and bent his body in emotional poses, crippled from pain and depression.

What may not be evident at first is Robert is a very tall man. He stands at 6’4”. To capture his full height is sometimes impossible to do, me being only 5’7”. But this was magical, emotional, inspiring. I cannot take full credit for the shoot, in fact, Robert was the one who had the ideas, and held the poses so I could shoot them. But I do know that no one else could have done that shoot with him, it was too raw.

We created Man in the barest of all emotions. Grief, loneliness, despair, heartache, sadness, pain, turmoil, depression; we touched them all. And the pain transfers, the images grab at you. You can feel the pleading, the pain, the hurt, the loneliness of Man.

To date, this series is our best seller. I can only credit this to the passion and commitment Robert has to his Art. He is Artist. He is Photographer. He is Man.