“The Land of Nuclear Enchantment”
photographs by Dave Bullock
curated by Nic Cha Kim

LOS ANGELES, CA – On February 14, 2008, Niche Video Art presents “The Land of Nuclear Enchantment,” a digital photography show by Dave Bullock.

ARTIST STATEMENT:
This summer I took a road trip to my old stomping ground in New Mexico. Along the way I toured some of my favorite places including Los Alamos and shot photos of some beautiful scenery as well as cool nuclear equipment. I have put together a show that includes a juxtaposition between the lovely natural wilderness and the cold technology that has been a key part of the nuclear weapons industry that is peppered throughout said wilderness.

I use a technique known as High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography to capture a wide range of detail, from the brightest highlight to the darkest shadow. I start by taking 3 photographs from a tripod of each scene. The first photograph is properly exposed, the second is underexposed by 2EV (Electron-Volts), and the third is overexposed by 2 EV. I then combine the 3 images to create an HDR image, which contains more color and luminescence information than today’s monitors and printers can display. In order to output and view these HDR images, Tone Mapping is required. Tone Mapping allows the wide range of luminescence detail to be compressed into a range that can be displayed and printed.

The 17″x22″ photographs in this show were printed using an Epson 3800 with Ultrachrome K3 pigment based ink on Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper, rated to last over 100 years.

I continue to photograph industrial landscapes in and around Los Angeles and earnestly await the next cloudy day.

GALLERY INFORMATION:
Situated in the heart of Gallery Row on the 4th floor of the Spring Arts Tower, Niche.LA Video Art is a dedicated mixed-media & video art gallery. Located at 453 S. Spring St. #443, Los Angeles, CA 90013 (www.niche.la), Niche.LA Video Art is operated by Nic Cha Kim and Woody Wise.