Keith Dotson is excited to announce that Barcelona-based publishing house Libros del Asteroide has published in Spain the new book Los Hijos Dormidos translated from the work by French author Anthony Passeron, on October 16, 2023. Keith's curled leaf photograph is featured on the cover.
"Dramatic Curled Leaf," a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson will be featured on the cover of French author Anthony Passeron's book "Los Hijos Dormidos" published in Barcelona this autumn. Click here to buy a fine art print of the photograph.
Libros del Asteroide's book blurb says the story is "halfway between sociological research and an intimate story, tells us about AIDS patients and their families during the spread of the virus."
Copyright notice for Keith Dotson for cover art for the book Los Hijos Dormidos, published in Spain in Fall of 2023.
Amazon Affiliate link: We may earn a small commission from the sale.
]]>Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is delighted to announce a new collection of B&W photographs of beautiful trees found across the vast landscape of the University of Texas at Austin campus.
According to Keith, being on campus felt like a homecoming, "Even though I didn't graduate from UT, I grew up not far from Austin and UT feels like my alma mater because I came here so often for school events. I attended journalism camps here in high school. I stayed in Jester Hall while attending the legendary Texas Boys State at the state Capitol building. I remember the excitement of walking across campus and down the drag in the late 70s, and early 80s."
The main campus of UT Austin covers more than 350 acres and features approximately 4,700 trees*. The university has expressed that it values the diversity of trees across the campus. UT Austin was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for more than a decade.
Notable alums of the University of Texas at Austin include Matthew McConaughey, Farrah Fawcett, Owen Wilson, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Walter Cronkite, Laura Bush, Jayne Mansfield, Janis Joplin, Michael Dell, Kevin Durant, Wes Anderson, Bill Moyers, and countless others from across business, athletics, and entertainment.
Available as fine art prints on baryta surface fiber-based photo paper in sizes from small to very large, the photographs are great as single prints are part of a themed grouping.
Below are a few select images from the collection.
Click here to see the entire collection.
Big Trees on the Campus of UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Magnificent Tree on the Campus of UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Trees Around the Base of the Tower at UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Three Trees on the Campus of UT Austin - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print here.
Click here to see the entire collection.
This project has not been endorsed by the University of Texas and is in no way affiliated with the university.
Sources
The Daily Texan. "UT works to build catalogue to document 4,700 trees."
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Whether it's for Christmas, birthdays, graduations, or anniversaries, art makes a very special and unique gift, and we recommend a selection from our collection of handmade small prints.
Each item in this collection is, by its very nature, unique and limited.
Support artists with small businesses by buying from independent artists like Keith.
Most of these photographic prints are analog, meaning they were not made by a digital printer, but are instead the product of a traditional process like darkroom printing or creation in a Polaroid camera.
After a long hiatus, Keith has recently returned to the darkroom and has enjoyed creating hand-crafted small prints again. While his digital inkjet prints are stunning works of art available in a vast array of sizes, the darkroom prints are intimate, special gems.
The look of a gelatin silver darkroom print simply cannot be replicated in any other way. And if a print is sold out, there may possibly never be another one made.
This example shows a detail photograph of the front of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. It's an original, handmade, black and white photograph printed by Keith Dotson in his darkroom on Ilford warm tone gelatin silver fiber based matte-surface paper. The print is mounted on 4-ply acid-free white mounting board and sealed in a plastic sleeve for protection. Click here to learn more about this print.
The image size is approximately 8 x 10 inches, and it's signed by Keith on back of the mount.
Classic car black and white darkroom photograph shot and printed by Keith Dotson. This original handmade print was made on on Ilford Classic Glossy gelatin silver fiber-based paper. The print is mounted on 4-ply acid-free white mounting board and matted with a white 4-ply conservation mat. The print comes to you sealed in a photo-safe plastic sleeve for protection. The image size is approximately 7 x 7 inches. The mat size is 11 x 11 inches and it's ready to frame.
This still life photograph of a dead flower is printed on Ilford warm tone gelatin silver paper at 3.5 inches square. It's mounted and matted with an ivory over mat, and signed in pencil on the back of the mount.
"Church Piano" black and white photograph by Keith Dotson, printed on Ilford warm tone gelatin silver fiber-based paper with a semi-matt surface. Size is approximately 10" x 7.5". Affixed to acid-free white mounting board sized at 11 x 14".
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The Jimmy Davis farmhouse was built in the 1890s deep in a holler in Tennessee. It's now protected on land owned by the Tennessee State Parks system. We arrived at the location just after sunset, racing to make the photographs before the light was completely gone.
All of the images are available as fine art prints in a wide variety of sizes on museum quality archival art paper. Click the photograph to learn more.
Jimmy Davis Homestead at Dog Cove, Tennessee (1890s) - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Old Door Inside and Abandoned 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Interior of a Ruined 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Ruins of an 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.
Window of an Abandoned 1890s Farmhouse - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
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Now you can watch a television show about the New Orleans dandelion exhibition that features three of Keith Dotson's black and white photographs on YouTube. Originally broadcast on May 5, 2023, Louisiana Public Broadcasting's episode of Art Rocks -- a TV show about art and artists in Louisiana -- focused on the exhibition currently hosted at Longue Vue House and Gardens through September 2023.
Keith's work can be seen in the video at 2:15, 8:29, and 8:32.
If you find yourself in New Orleans this summer, try to see the show. The venue (the mansion and gardens) is lovely and the show is delightful.
Milwaukee — Fine art photographer Keith Dotson was honored to be the featured artist at a Milwaukee Gallery Night venue on April 21, 2023. The boutique law firm of Barton Cerjak S.C. had recently acquired a collection Dotson's fine art photographs for the walls of their new office space in the historic Pritzlaff Building, and decided to celebrate their new space and artworks on the city's popular Gallery Night.
The well-attended festivities included live music by a local jazz band, gourmet hors d'oeuvres, local beer, and fine wines. The large crowd included attorneys and their families, clients of the firm, families with children, and people off the streets seeking to look at the photographs.
Photographer Keith Dotson (left) meets James Barton face-to-face in Milwaukee for the first time
The relationship between firm partner James Barton and Keith Dotson began several years prior when Barton sought to design his firm's website around Dotson's photographs. A recent partnership between Barton and Michael Cerjak — along with a new office space in the Pritzlaff Building — created a need for wall art, and an opportunity for an open house celebration. Milwaukee's April Gallery Night offered the perfect chance for clients and art lovers to come inside the firm for a party and art viewing.
Gallery Night signage inside the historic Pritzlaff Building in Milwaukee
Reception area of Milwaukee law firm Barton Cerjak S.C. featuring two framed black and white photographs by Keith Dotson
Unlike most Gallery Night spaces, this art was not for sale to visitors because it had already been acquired by the firm.
Many thanks to James Barton and Michael Cerjak for hosting the festivities!
Nashville-based fine art photographer Keith Dotson pictured beside a 40 x 60-inch print of his foggy mountain landscape shot in North Carolina
Attendees socialize with a large panoramic print of a photograph taken near Savannah, Georgia
Blurb about Keith's work as seen in the official Gallery Night MKE brochure
]]>Keith Dotson is excited to announce the exhibition of three landscape photographs in New Orleans at Longue Vue House and Gardens through September 16, 2023.
The show is called "The Dandelion: A Symbol of Resilience," and it runs from March 9 - September 16, 2023.
Keith was present for the opening of the group show in the mansion at Longue Vue on March 9, 2023.
All three of Keith's framed photographs are offered for sale.
Bicentennial Bur Oak in a Field of Dandelions, 16 x 20-inch photograph by Keith Dotson, seen on exhibition at Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans
Bio for Keith Dotson's exhibition at Longue Vue House and Gardens
Featured Artists:
Leslie Addison & George Yerger (New Orleans)
Muffin Bernstein (New Orleans)
Neil Bromhall (Oxford, England)
Nicole Charbonnet (New Orleans)
Ashleigh Coleman (Mississippi)
Keith Dotson (Nashville)
Troy Dugas (New Orleans)
Courtney Egan & David Sullivan (New Orleans)
Ida Floreak (New Orleans)
Kelli Scott Kelley (Baton Rouge)
George Marks (Arnaudville/Baton Rouge)
Rikailah “Rickey” Mathieu (New Orleans)
Marcy Palmer (Dallas)
Mary Jane Parker (New Orleans)
Bradley Sabin & Karoline Schleh (New Orleans)
Monica Zeringue (New Orleans)
Longue Vue House is a grand mansion located in New Orleans, built by Edgar and Edith Stern in the 1930s. Edgar Stern was a highly successful businessman, who with his wife Edith, was also a philanthropist.
The mission of Longue Vue House and Gardens as copied from their website:
"Inspired by our humanitarian and artistic legacy, Longue Vue’s mission is to be a leader in the advancement of innovative thought, creative expression, and lifelong learning, and to engage our resources and exceptional setting to stimulate discussion and action on issues of social justice and community responsibility."
Longue Vue House and Gardens
7 Bamboo Road
New Orleans, LA 70124
(504) 488-5488
info@longuevue.com
Longue Vue House and Gardens, host of the exhibition featuring works by Keith Dotson on show March to September 2023
Huge oak trees on the grounds of Longue Vue House and Gardens, host of the exhibition featuring works by Keith Dotson
]]>This tiny old farmhouse is decaying into ruins now, but it must have been a perfect little home for a family in its day. Now it sits vacant and filled wall-to-wall with rusty and dusty furniture, boxes, and other things.
Follow along in the video as Keith discovers and photographs this isolated gem.
Keith views his photographs of abandoned places as a form of preservation. Most of the places he has photographed are endangered and many no longer in existence.
These photographs are available as fine art black and white prints on museum-quality paper in a wide variety of sizes from quite small to 40 x 60-inches and beyond.
Click the links to learn more about buying a signed print directly from Keith.
Black and white photograph of an abandoned rural farmhouse in the American South. Click to buy a fine art print.
Rusty iron bed seen in the window of an abandoned rural farmhouse. Click to buy a fine art print.
Bullet-riddled stove on the back porch of an abandoned rural farmhouse in the American South. Buy a fine art photograph here.
Rustic wooden clapboard siding and ivy vines on the side of an abandoned farmhouse
Back porch of an abandoned farmhouse in the American South
In summer of 2021, I made a stop in the city of Wheeling, West Virginia — more specifically, South Wheeling. As I exited Highway 250 and entered the historic neighborhoods of South Wheeling, I felt my excitement begin to build. A familiar fever came over me—the burning urge to grab my camera and see (and photograph) everything.
One of my passions as a photographer is making images of abandoned or historic buildings that show the textures, character, and patina of time. For me, South Wheeling is a wonderland — a place seemingly unaltered by progress since the 1940s. That’s not true of course, but visually speaking, the city still exists in another time.
Sadly, I didn’t have a lot of time to spend in South Wheeling, but the time I had was well used. I made a lot of images. This portfolio includes my favorites from the day.
My promise to myself is that I will return to Wheeling soon, giving it the time it deserves, and visiting every fascinating corner.
Ultimately, this is a portfolio of images made in Wheeling. But anyone curious about my work can see many of those same images on my website, so why make a book? I wanted this publication to be more than a set of images. I wanted to give context to the photographs. I wanted to tell stories about the city and about the people who occupied these buildings. I wanted to describe my feelings of being there. I wanted to explain what prompted me to shoot these photographs.
For this publication, I’ve made a deep dive into the history of the buildings shown in the portfolio, and learned a little bit about the city that still wears its past in plain sight. I’m particularly indebted to a form housed on the website of the National Register of Historic Places, which describes in detail a large chunk of South Wheeling, and many of the buildings I photographed there.
The cover was adapted from an 1884 fire map of Wheeling, West Virginia, created by the Sanborn Map and Publishing Co., Limited, of New York. The company published detailed and elaborately designed maps for the insurance industry from the mid-1800s until 1961. Fingerprints and smudges are part of the original scans made by the Library of Congress.
Inside the United States:
Buy the book directly from Blurb (Click here) $18.95 plus shipping
Buy the printed book directly from Keith (Click here) $24.00 includes flat-rate shipping inside the U.S.
Download a digital PDF of the book (Click here) $4.99
Outside the United States:
Buy the book from Blurb (Click here) $18.95 USD plus shipping
Note: This book is not available on Amazon
Part of Keith's motivation for making photographs of abandoned and historic structures is to create a record of their existence. By their very nature, abandoned buildings are in danger of loss. After publication, we received news from a reader in Wheeling that two of the buildings featured in the book are scheduled for demolition. One of those buildings at 3606 Jacob Street is already being razed.
According to Wheeling's The Intelligencer newspaper, the historic Hobbs Brockunier house at 3530 Eoff Street (not featured in the book) was recently demolished. It had been bought at auction by an out-of-state investor and now the vacant lot is currently offered for sale at nearly ten times the auction price. Weelunk published a story about the old house with interior photographs.
The city of Wheeling has ramped up its demolition budget and intends to aggressively remove between 80 and 100 derelict buildings. This makes a return visit to Wheeling to shoot more structures urgent.
It's understandable that the city would seek to remove hazardous buildings, but this also erases visible signs of the city's history and changes the character of neighborhoods. The old sign-painting shop at 3606 Jacob Street that's now being demolished, was built by Charles Seybold in 1891.
It's our honor to announce that two Keith Dotson photographs have just been published in the powerful new book Our America: A Photographic History, by noted documentary filmmaker and author Ken Burns (of PBS fame).
Two black and white photographs by Keith Dotson as seen in the Ken Burns book "Our America: A Photographic History."
The cover of "Our America: A Photographic History" by Ken Burns features a photograph made by one of Burns' former teachers.
Our America is a big book — over 300 pages — beautifully designed with one photograph per page followed by extensive notes and credits in the back of the book. Most of the photographs are historical and in the documentary style — befitting Burns career as a socially-conscious documentary filmmaker.
Work by famous photographers like Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Sally Mann, and Michael Avedon (grandson of Richard Avedon) are also featured in the book, alongside important and sometimes grim images from across American history including the periods of the Civil War, the Great Depression, and even back to the very beginnings of photography.
For Keith, the process began with a vague email in 2015 enquiring about a particular photograph, which did eventually make it into the book. Discussions continued periodically over the next six-and-a-half years, with a second photograph selected in the final months prior to completion of the book.
Museum quality black and white prints of these photographs are available in a variety of sizes. Please click the links below to learn more. Shipping is always free within the United States.
Old House with American Flag, a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Row of Raindrops, a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Note: This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate links. I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
]]>Many thanks to the nice people at MADERA for sending a sample t-shirt imprinted on the back with Keith's Curled Autumn Leaf photograph.
MADERA has been a great client. Not only did they license the leaf photograph for multiple uses, including the t-shirts, but they also acquired a large set of fine art black and white prints for the walls of their New York and Los Angeles showrooms.
MADERA is a design and fabrication firm that makes custom wood floors, integrated millwork, and bespoke furniture.
Learn more about them on their website here.
Photograph of Keith Dotson holding up the MADERA t-shirt featuring his Curled Autumn Leaf photograph
Curled Autumn Leaf is available as museum-quality black and white prints on baryta surface paper in a wide variety of sizes up to 60-inches.
Curled Autumn Leaf - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art photograph.
]]>A series of black and white photographs of old country stores left vacant or abandoned along backroads across the American south.
]]>Country stores were a valuable resource for rural people in the days before supermarkets, big box stores, or even cars, were common. Shoppers could buy food, ammunition, farm supplies and implements, hardware, nails, headache medicine, hats and shoes, candy, and swathes of fabric.
But stores were also a place to pick up mail and catch up on news. They were a place to relax over a game of checkers while having a cold Coca-Cola or RC Cola. They were a place to meet friends and relatives and catch up on local gossip. Some of them, like the M.E. Trew General Merchandise Store extended hundreds or even thousands of dollars of credit to local farmers while they waited for the crops to be harvested.
Our first country store is the M.E. Trew General Merchandise Store near Etowah in East Tennessee. The building on the left was constructed in 1890 by J.W. Trew, and the second opened in 1903. The store was operated by M.E. Trew from 1925 until his death in 1996, when the store was closed permanently.
M.E. Trew General Merchandise Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Historic Trew General Merchandise Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.
The historic C.H. Pender Grocery Store building is located at a crossroads in rural North Carolina. The structure was built in the 1880s with a later addition on the side to serve as a post office.
C.H. Pender Grocery Store in North Carolina - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Window with Empty Cola Bottle - Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson.
Turquoise Wooden Door with Mail Slot - Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson.
This little community made a lot of headlines late in 2021, when it all came up for sale. The headlines said things like, "TN town for sale, here’s what it would cost to buy it" and "An entire town in Tennessee is up for sale for a very reasonable price." and "Buy the historic town of water valley."
C.E. Dodson General Store in Water Valley, Tennessee. Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art photograph.
The old McGowan General Store was built in the 1910s in the rural community of Water Valley, Tennessee.
Old McGowan General Store in Water Valley, Tennessee - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Watch my video made on location in Water Valley on YouTube here.
Like most country stores, Pearcy's General Merchandise Store sold everything from gasoline to feed and seed. Even though it's been closed for years, it's still chock full of old stuff, now gathering dust.
Pearcy's General Merchandise - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson.
Abandoned Old Country Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Tattered front doors of an abandoned old country store in Mississippi - Black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Blue Jacket with Sale Tag Hanging in an Abandoned Old Country Store - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
The R.C. Tibbs Store was central to Hushpuckena, a much-beloved small community that's now just a collection of abandoned, ruined buildings standing along a dirt road officially called Highway 61, in Bolivar County — not far from Shelby, Mississippi. Highway 61 is an offshoot of the modern Highway 278, which runs deep into the Mississippi Delta. Hushpuckena was once a flag stop on the Illinois Central train line.
Read my detailed blog post (with video) about Hushpuckena here
Ruins of Tibbs' Store in Hushpuckena, Mississippi - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
]]>Fine Art Photographer Keith Dotson Announces a New Set of Six Square Images Shot on Medium Format Film of Rusty Antique Automobiles
]]>Keith Dotson has released a new set of six square format photographs of classic American cars and antique trucks. The old vehicles were photographed in a junkyard in varying states of rust and decay.
All of the images were shot on shot on medium format Cinestill Double-X BwXX black and white film using a vintage Hasselblad camera. This film has been cut and repackaged from classic Kodak Eastman Double X motion picture film.
This same film has been used to make black and white movies in Hollywood since the late 1950s, and was used in filming of Young Frankenstein, The Lighthouse, Raging Bull, Schindler's List, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Manhattan, and many others.
Dotson chose the Cinestill film because of its rich tonalities, fine grain, and sharpness.
He shot these images using a vintage Hasselblad 500 C/M camera made in 1977, with an 80mm Hasselblad lens made by Carl Zeiss in 1994.
Behind-the-scenes photograph of Keith Dotson's Hasselblad on location in the junkyard, which is located in the southern United States
Each photograph in the set can be purchased individually or in customizable combinations. They are printed on museum-quality fine art paper in sizes up to 30 x 30 inches (or maybe slightly larger).
Junked Buick Super Eight Circa 1951 - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Ornament on Back of a Classic Car in a Junkyard - Black and White Photograph. Click to buy a print.
Rusty Junkyard Truck - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
The Ghost - Pale Antique Truck in a Dark Forest - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print here.
Rusty Antique Chevrolet Pickup Truck - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Junkyard Truck with Dead Vines - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print.
]]>Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is excited to announce that the O'More College of Architecture and Design at Belmont University (Nashville) has selected four of his photographs for wall decor.
]]>Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is excited to announce that the O'More College of Architecture and Design at Belmont University (Nashville) has selected four of his photographs for wall decor.
Dotson's black and white photographs of architectural gems found around downtown Nashville will decorate the walls of the Dean's conference room at O'More, which is housed in the Hitch Building on the Belmont campus.
Administrators at O'More asked that the art be delivered framed, and ready to hang, providing input on framing styles and mat widths.
For Dotson, it's an honor to have his work selected to hang on the walls of such a storied school of creativity and design.
Exterior or the Hitch Building at Belmont University, home of the O'More College of Architecture and Design
Outside the Hitch Building at Belmont can be found this Celtic-inspired sculpture which says, "O'More College of Design, 1970." The base of the cross contains the Gaelic phrase "Conlan Abu," which means victory to our cause.
Keith Dotson's 20 x 30-inch print of the front of Nashville's historic Hume-Fogg Academy in a black gallery frame with 8-ply white mat, waiting to be hung on the wall at O'More College of Architecture and Design at Belmont University
This row of windows is iconic in Nashville. They are from the Ryman Auditorium, which was the legendary home of the Grand Ole Opry for decades. If they resemble church windows, it's no accident. The building started out its existence as a church.
An overhead look at the 20 x 30-inch print of the Hume-Fogg Academy shown in the frame above.
Fine art photographer Keith Dotson inspects one of the photographs selected by Belmont University.
This decorative window can be found on the exterior of Nashville's historic Union Station building.
]]>After receiving requests, Keith Dotson has formally begun offering customized one-on-one portfolio reviews for beginner to intermediate fine art photographers. Sessions last between one and one-and-a-half hours and are tailored to each photographer's special interests and needs. Sessions are primarily conducted via video chat.
]]>After receiving requests, Keith Dotson has formally begun offering customized one-on-one portfolio reviews for beginner to intermediate fine art photographers.
Sessions last between one and one-and-a-half hours and are tailored to each photographer's special interests and needs. Sessions are primarily conducted via video chat.
All reviews are honest but delivered gently with kindness, humor, and encouragement.
Sessions can be tailored to a photographer's special interests or goals and may cover ways to improve images (composition, camera technique, etc.), suggestions to hone a portfolio overall, how to get started selling prints, how to work with art buyers and interior designers, printing tips, pros and cons of various website hosts, and more.
This service is best for fine art or landscape photographers, and would probably not benefit commercial or wedding photographers.
The cost of the session is $125.
We look forward to meeting you!
Keith is a professional fine art photographer with more than 15 years of experience. He taught college-level art and design classes for 5 years. He can advise on how to hone your portfolio, how to position yourself to work with collectors and art buyers, and how to sell prints.
Learn more about Keith's background here.
All sales are final.
]]>Black and white photographs by fine art photographer Keith Dotson have been featured in the January 2022 issue of Santa Fe magazine
]]>A profile of Keith Dotson has been featured on a six-page spread in the new Santa Fe Magazine. The magazine has published Keith's landscape photographs made in New Mexico in 2006 and 2013.
Many thanks to publisher John Miller for inviting Keith — an outsider — to be part of this big, beautiful new magazine, which is primarily focused on local artists and community leaders. Thanks also to Becky Thomason, who shot the portrait of Keith used in the article.
It's difficult from looking at these photographs to comprehend the large and substantial size of the publication.
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Keith Dotson's landscape photographs were shown in a spread in Cozy Cabins & Retreats, a special edition published by Better Homes & Gardens magazine.
]]>Keith Dotson's landscape photographs were shown in a spread in Cozy Cabins & Retreats, a special edition published by Better Homes & Gardens magazine.
The spread featured a beautiful Vermont cabin with interior design by Lisa Hilderbrand. Photographs of the interiors were made by John Bessler.
Cover of Cozy Cabins & Retreats, a special publication of Better Homes & Gardens where photographs by Keith Dotson can be seen
A spread for Cozy Cabins & Retreats shows two Keith Dotson landscape photographs. Interior design by Lisa Hilderbrand. Photographs by John Bessler.
Close-up look at Keith Dotson's framed landscape photographs
Bicentennial Bur Oak, a black and white photography by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Symmatree, a black and white landscape photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
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Fine art photographer Keith Dotson is excited to announce that his photograph 'Giant Cottonwood Tree in Winter' is featured on the cover of The Coven Tree, a new horror book by author Ed Perratore. Published in August 2021 by Boat Tail Press of Fort Myers, Florida, the story centers around a grieving couple who bring home a new piece of furniture offered by an upstate New York antiques dealer at a steep discount. Why is the seller so eager to get rid of the beautiful highboy?
The Coven Tree, a new horror novel by Ed Perratore, with cover photograph by Keith Dotson.
Keith Dotson's photograph of a giant cottonwood tree, as seen on the cover page of The Coven Tree written by Ed Perratore.
Many thanks to Mr. Perratore for selecting Keith's photograph for the book. We have only just begun to read the story, but so far, it's quite compelling.
Below is the synopsis quoted verbatim from Amazon's listing for the book:
"How could they turn it down? Johanna and Daniel Keane know that nothing whatsoever could ease the loss they’re feeling from the second of two miscarriages. Then, at an antique shop, they chance upon an exquisitely crafted highboy. It’s something else to think about, at the very least. And when the cabinet’s manic builder offers it for a fraction of its apparent worth, the Keanes snatch it up as a bargain.
When the highboy arrives at their home, however, it brings something else besides grandeur. Visitors witness terrifying scenes. Deaths occur without explanation. And slowly, the highboy manages to ravage the very lives of Johanna, Daniel and their sixteen-year old son, Randall—where they’re most vulnerable. As answers to its origins emerge, the highboy begins to further mutate: into an instrument of dark vengeance borne of a centuries-old curse.
Too late, the Keanes come to realize what is at stake. But is it too late to save their family from an evil as old as creation?"
Ed Perratore has been a professional writer for more than 30 years, with thousands of bylines on topics ranging from technology to health. Ed is a former staffer at Consumer Reports and PC Magazine. His credits include Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, the Newark Star-Ledger, PC Magazine, Byte and Computer Shopper. When he’s not writing, Ed enjoys hiking, photography, fishing, and spending time with his wife Elena, and his family which now includes a grandchild.
Cover layout and production by Andrew Perratore
Photo research by Phyllis Abshier
Author photograph by John F.X. Walsh
Fine art prints are available in a wide range of sizes and prices on museum quality paper. Free shipping inside the U.S. Click the photograph to learn more.
Giant Cottonwood Tree in Winter, a black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Above: Keith Dotson's black and white photograph of an old Uneeda Biscuit ghost sign, as seen in the pages of Linked Magazine.
The old vintage sign survives on the side of a building high on a hill in Clarksville, Tennessee. Probably first painted between 1898 and 1904, the sign was designed to attract attention of river traffic on the nearby Cumberland River.
Keith's photo credit in the back of the publication.
Linked is a beautiful publication and quite an interesting read, even for people not involved with the printing and packaging industry. You can read the digital version of Linked here, and subscribe to receive future printed issues if you so desire.
Fine art prints of this photograph are available in a range of sizes and prices. Prints are made on museum quality fine art paper.
Uneeda Biscuit Ghost Sign in Clarksville Tennessee - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
]]>Fine art photographer Keith Dotson has delivered a large, framed, black and white photograph to Amazon's new corporate office building, which opened August 16. The framed photograph of guitar cases seen at a gig, was selected by an architectural design firm working on behalf of Amazon, and will be displayed on the fifth floor of the tower.
Located in the new Nashville Yards development, Amazon's office tower is the first of two planned for the Nashville Yards location. It's 20 stories tall and features more than 500,000 square feet of office and retail space at 1010 Church Street. Both towers combined will comprise more than one million square feet. Amazon is calling the new office its "Office of Excellence." Amazon's projected hires will make it the largest private-sector employer in downtown Nashville.
Guitar Cases at a Gig in Nashville, black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a print.
According to the Nashville Business Journal, the first Amazon tower will also host art by three Hume-Fogg High School students and murals by two local artists.
Close-up image of the actual print with the photographer's fingers giving a sense of scale. Never touch the surface of your photographic prints. This one is protected by a plastic sheet.
Examining the print for Amazon's new office tower, prior to delivery to the frame shop. Never touch the surface of your photographic prints. This one is protected by a plastic sheet.
Nashville Yards is a major new development in downtown Nashville that will host, in addition to the two Amazon office towers, a bank, hotel, office space, residential units, and retail and entertainment tenants.
Keith is proud to be making his own small contribution to the new development, in the form of wall art.
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Keith Dotson is excited to announce a new series of fine art black and white photographs of natural objects pictured against a bright backlight. The results are compelling high resolution, high contrast images that work well individually and also fit well alongside each other within the collection.
The collection is a work-in-progress, and new images will be added over time.
These works are suitable for home or office decor and would make great options for interior designers seeking large prints for commercial design projects.
All photographs in the series are available as black and white prints on museum-quality baryta surface papers, in a wide variety of sizes and prices. Shipping is free inside the U.S.
Seed Pod from a Goldenrain Tree. Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson, Click to buy a fine art print.
Dried Flower Bloom with Backlight. Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Pine Cone Illuminated. Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click here to buy a fine art print.
Click here to see all the photographs in the new Nature Illuminated collection.
]]>Keith has added a stunning new photograph to his ongoing portfolio of leaf skeleton macro photographs. These photographs are designed to highlight the intimate beauty of nature's design, which is often overlooked in daily life.
This new photograph is available in a wide variety of print sizes up to 60-inches square. By printing these in large sizes, we can enjoy them on a grand scale, almost a landscape unto themselves.
Usually we see photographs on social media or on websites, which are by necessity low resolution. In this video, you can see a detailed view of the intricate patterns inside the skeleton of this gorgeous leaf.
For scale: this photograph shows the actual leaf on Keith's fingertips.
Keith's photographs are printed to the latest archival standards, using museum-quality papers made by a German paper mill that has manufactured art papers since the 1500s. The surface is glossy, with a baryta coating very similar to old fashioned darkroom fiber-based papers.
Keith's prints are designed to be heirloom art objects that can be proudly passed down to your children and even their children. Read more detail about Keith's prints here.
Leaf Skeleton - Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
May 2021 — Lexington, KY
Keith Dotson is extremely excited to announce completion of a new project to provide 32 black and white photographs, in a wide variety of sizes, as wall art decor for a Lexington area Women's Clinic.
The deal was arranged by UK's Arts in HealthCare manager, Jason Akhtarekhavari, who said that his team really wanted to decorate the clinic with black and white photography. Jason said that one reason Keith's work was chosen was because of the sheer volume and diversity of subject matter he offers.
Prints ranged from 8 x 8-inches to 20 x 30-inches. All were archivally printed on museum quality fine art photographic paper with a baryta coated surface that is almost identical to classic darkroom fiber-based papers in both look and materials. The paper was made by a mill in Germany that has a history of paper-making all the way back to the 1500s. Read more about Keith's prints here.
Black and white photograph of a horse grazing in the Smoky Mountains, printed on museum-quality baryta surface fine art paper.
Black and white photograph of a Gulf Fritillary butterfly on a purple thistle. At 8 x 8-inches, this was the smallest print in the project.
In the beautiful, small town of Jonesborough — the oldest town in Tennessee — there's a historic building that probably isn't so significant in its own right, except that it features a large old painted wall ad that can't be missed.
The A.B. Cummings Building, constructed circa 1888, is widely known as "The Mail Pouch Building" because of its historic tobacco wall ad, which was originally painted in 1895 and restored in 1994. The building now houses a retail boutique.
The text of the fading, hand-painted ghost sign says:
A.B. Cummings,
Groceries, Coal, Hay etc.
Trade Mark.
West Virginia Mail Pouch Tobacco
for Chewing and Smoking.
Bloch Bros. W-Va.
(In very large type) Mail Pouch Tobacco
The official Jonesborough tourism page says this about the old sign: "Painted around 1895, the sign itself is made up of two parts: the lower portion, advertising Mail Pouch Tobacco, processed by Bloch Bros. of Wheeling, West Virginia. The upper portion is an advertisement for Augustus B. Cummings, who was a local businessman and possibly one of the inventors of the first plow. This portion is called a privilege panel, and was traditionally given to the building’s owner or occupant as compensation for allowing the tobacco company to paint their sign on the building."
Museum-quality black and white prints of this photograph are available in a wide variety of sizes. They are printed on archival baryta-surface paper and are designed to become family heirlooms that will last well beyond our lifetimes with proper care (just like the old building itself).
Buy a fine art print here, or click the photograph
Black and white photograph of the historic Mail Pouch ghost sign in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Click to buy a fine art print.
Below is the full description of the building from the United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places:
"104 S. Cherokee Street
— The building on parcel 060AF01401 is a commercial building. The historic name is Mail Pouch Building and it is now known as the Mail Pouch. Built in 1888, the form of the building is Two Part Commercial Block. The building is 2.0 stories and has a rectangular shape. The foundation is brick and the siding is brick. The roof material is rubber membrane and the roof shape is parapet, with shed roof. There are no chimneys. The building does not have a porch. There is a stoop. The building has 1/1 and display windows. There is a painted advertisement from the turn of the century on the north facade. The present facade is 1920s textured brick. (C) There are no outbuildings on the parcel."
From 1891 to 1992, the West Virginia Mail Pouch tobacco brand (Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company) paid farmers from $1 - $3 per month to host painted ads on their wooden barns. While they peaked in the 1960s at about 20,000 barns, the ads also appeared on some walls in towns as well, including this one in the historic city of Jonesborough, Tennessee.
The company deployed a small team of sign painters, who became well-known themselves, and were friendly with the farmers they visited every few years to retouch the barns. While farms didn't earn much income from the ads, they did receive the benefit of a painted barn.
The Mail Pouch advertising program ended in 1992 when their last sign painter, Harley Warrick, decided to retire.
The painted ads were preserved as historic artifacts in the 1960s, when the Highway Beautification Act limited the number of ads allowed along American highways.
Fine art photographer Keith Dotson announces a new collection of black and white photographs of an old abandoned country store he discovered while driving on a back road.
It's always exciting to find unexpected locations like this one. In this case, Keith wanted to photograph the location from many angles, from a distance and up-close in detail, to make a complete portrait of this endangered old structure.
Fine art prints up to 40 x 60 inches (or larger) are available of each photograph. Prints are made on semi-gloss fine art baryta surface paper made in one of Europe's legacy paper mills, that has made artists's papers since the 1500s. These are museum-quality fine art photographic prints.
Front of an Abandoned Mercantile Store: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Peeling Paint in an Old Mercantile Store: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Tattered Screen Doors on an Abandoned Country Store: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.
Blue Jacket with Sale Tag Hanging in an Abandoned Old Country Store. Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Abandoned Old Country Store: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Rusty Door Hinge on an Abandoned Building: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.
Woodwork Details on an Abandoned Country Store: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
]]>Fine art photographer Keith Dotson has released a beautifully moody landscape photograph of this gnarly old tree that he found while hiking in the foggy mountains of western North Carolina las fall.
Somehow, this old tree — scarred and gouged — seems to represent us all in this tenuous era of uncertainty and strangeness. But this majestic old tree is a survivor.
Scroll down to watch a behind-the-scenes video on location with Keith in this foggy mountainside forest.
Fine art prints are available on museum-quality paper in a wide range of sizes up to 40 x 60 inches.
Gnarly Old Tree in the Fog - Black and white landscape photograph by Keith Dotson.
A challenge of landscape photography is to create images that capture the vast scale and drama of the scene. Here, Keith Dotson presents 6 super-wide panoramas of the wild, rugged mountains that erupt starkly from the desert plains of West Texas.
Featured here are photographs of the Davis, Guadalupe, and Chisos Mountains of far West Texas.
Fine art prints on museum-quality fine art baryta paper are available. Click the image to learn more about that print.
Desert Mountain Panorama: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. This view of the Guadalupe Mountains can be seen larger and in more detail in the video above. Buy a fine art print.
Hazy Mountain Sunrise Panorama: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. This photograph captures the Chisos Mountain range at sunrise, only a few miles from the Mexican border. Click to buy a fine art print.
Desert Crossing: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Shot in the Davis Mountains, the image shows sunrise catching the rising dust trail behind a pickup truck traveling across the broad desert plain near the mountain range. Buy a fine art print.
Guadalupe Mountains, a back and white panoramic photograph by Keith Dotson. This photograph captures the rugged detail and texture of a peak in West Texas. Buy a fine art print.
Mountain Sunrise. Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Prints available soon.
West Texas Mountain Panorama. Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Fine art prints available soon.
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Fine art photographer Keith Dotson introduces a suite of new moody, foggy tree photographs, available in sizes up to 40 x 60 inches (or larger by special request).
]]>Keith Dotson has released a new set of moody landscape photographs featuring barren winter trees set among atmospheric morning fog. Each photograph is available in sizes up to 40 x 60 inches (or larger by special request). We think they would work very well as a set.
These images combine two of Keith's favorite subjects: Trees and fog.
To see more of Keith's tree photographs, visit his Trees and Branches Portfolio.
To see more black and white photographs of foggy landscapes, check out Keith's Rain and Fog Portfolio. This portfolio contains a lot of new work.
Winter Branches - Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Barren Winter Branches - Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Big Trees in Morning Fog - Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Sycamore Branch in Winter - Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print here.
Foggy Morning Landscape - Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print.
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With the new year comes a major release of new black and white landscape photographs shot in the Lone Star state. Keith Dotson is excited to announce a major update to his popular Texas portfolio.
Once a Texan, always a Texan. Keith — who now lives in the Nashville area — was raised in Texas and he enjoys returning home to the Lone Star state whenever possible. But, this big update of new images was shot in the high deserts and mountains of West Texas, a region he has rarely visited.
The Texas portfolio actually consists of five sections, an overall Texas page and a set of regional pages to help people quickly focus on a specific place:
About the new work, Keith said, "This update was long over due. The Texas images are among my most popular, and I really needed to add new work. Now I've fleshed out a region of the state that was under-represented."
Keith used one word to describe the landscapes he saw in West Texas . . . "Breathtaking!"
Keith spent time in the small towns of Van Horn, Marfa, Presidio, and Valentine. He photographed four mountain ranges: the Davis Mountains, the Guadalupe Mountains, the Chisos, and the Chinati Range.
These rugged ranges rise dramatically from the flat basin of the desert floor. The challenge of the photography is make images that feel as broad and vast as the landscape itself.
This is the ranching territory made famous by the 1956 movie "Giant," starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean (in his final movie role).
These fine art black and white prints are offered on museum-quality paper in a wide variety of sizes, up to 40 x 60-inches or even larger. Custom sizes are available.
Tall Desert Yucca with Mountains on the Horizon: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.
Old Stardust Motel Sign in Marfa, Texas: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Keith found this gorgeous, crusty, old neon sign for the long-defunct Stardust Motel on the side of State Highway 90 between Marfa and Valentine. It's difficult to read, but the word "Marfa" overlays the word "Motel" in thin tubes of neon.
Lone Star Finial on an Old Fence in West Texas: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click here to buy a fine art photograph.
Keith found this rusty, but beautiful, old iron fence on the property of a big, abandoned house built sometime around 1910. He shot the house of course, but kept feeling drawn to photograph the fence, with its graceful spirals of wrought iron and its iconic lone star finials. The history of the ruined old house is shrouded in mystery. They say "if only walls could talk," but in this case it's more like if only fences could talk.
Tiny Bird Tracks Across Ripples of Sand: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a signed print.
This mesmerizing photograph of ripples in the sand is nearly abstract, with the soft repetition of the wave pattern interrupted only by the tiny tracks of bird feet. This looks like it could have been shot on the beach, and it could work as part of a beach theme, but it was actually shot in the high desert of West Texas.
Desert House: Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.
This photograph shows a detail of the weathered and cracked paint on the back door of an old house. Years of desert heat, sand storms, and neglect have not been kind to this old door, but the result is an incredible abstract texture that fires the imagination with stories.
Fence Post with Barbed Wire: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print.
This simple but bold photograph takes a common object, a simple wooden fence post — they can be seen in the plains and deserts by the millions — and elevates it to iconic status. With the blurred background and towering composition, the textured wooden post becomes the hero of the landscape.
Abandoned House in a Small Town. Black and White Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art photograph here.
For Keith, abandoned houses are among the most compelling subjects. This house was clearly loved and cared for. Look at the beautiful wooden shingles on the gable, and the last vestiges of white paint on the clapboards. It's so poignant to think of all the lost memories that were made within those walls.
The Rugged West - Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Hazy Mountain Sunrise Panorama: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print.
Lonesome Desert Highway: Black and White Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.
Desert Crossing: Black and White Panoramic Landscape Photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a fine art print here.
There are many more new and older photographs in the various Texas portfolios. See them here:
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New England Home magazine has published a feature about a Vermont ski house with interior design by Connecticut-based Lisa Hilderbrand of Hilderbrand Interiors. Lisa acquired several black and white photographs of trees for the design project, two of which can be seen in the photograph of the kitchen, taken by architectural photographer John Bessler.
Writer Robert Kiener kindly noted that "black-and-white photographs by Keith Dotson complete the space." We appreciate the nice words.
Read the story here, or go directly to the photo of the rustic kitchen here.
Two black and white tree photographs by Keith Dotson can be seen on the wall of this beautiful, rustic kitchen designed by Lisa Hilderbrand, with photograph by John Bessler.
New England Home is published in Boston and can be read online here. Their gorgeous Instagram feed can be found here.
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