At 19, Godfrey "Jeff" Sluder traveled west to see the nation's national parks and unknowingly embarked on a life altering journey. Stunned by the enormous beauty of the American landscape, he felt compelled to capture the vistas and share the personality and magnificence that so moved him. Although his passion for photography grew over years, Jeff did not begin focusing on his art full-time for more than thirty-five years after that fateful trip.
After completing his Bachelor's degree at the University of Vermont and a Master's Degree at the University of Virginia, Jeff worked primarily in sales and marketing for the Nestle Company in New York and the Minwax Company in New Jersey. Although it was in these positions that he honed skills such as patience, attention to detail, and the power of visual communication, it was only during regimented vacation time that he could indulge in his photographic talents. When he was presented with an opportunity to retire early, he took it and shortly afterwards moved with his wife to New Hampshire. Finally, he had time to devote to his photography, fulfilling a life-long dream.
Read More
Whether traveling across the country or just out his backdoor, Jeff is inspired to exhibit unique perspectives on scenes formed by millenniums of natural movement - water, earth and air cutting, scouring and polishing the environment into exquisite shapes that capture the light and capture your breath. His work is based on revealing the infinite variety of patterns in nature and exposing the character and personality of the world. "When I am out on a shoot, I often get so focused on the interplay of light, color, pattern, and space in nature that I lose my sense of self," he notes. "I come back refreshed and inspired by the unlimited beauty that is out there just waiting to be noticed. I hope that my photographs in turn will inspire viewers to see and appreciate the natural world around us."
Jeff is a member of the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists and the Newburyport Art Association as well as contributing photographer to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
< Back
Current & Future |
Past |
Publications
Current & Future Displays
No upcoming displays at the moment, please check back soon.
Current & Future |
Past |
Publications
Past Displays
New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists Show
Exeter, NH
January 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Open Studios at Waltham Mills
144 Moody Street
Waltham, MA
November 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
Oasis Café Gallery
Waltham, MA
April 2007, March - July 2008
Conservation Center
54 Portsmouth St
Concord, NH 03301
January 2007, September 2007, January 2009
Newburyport Art Association
Newburyport, MA
August 2006, August 2007, March 2009
Godfrey C. Sluder
13 Hunt Road
Kingston NH 03848
jeff@sluderphotography.com
603.642.7034 (p)
603.642.7051 (f)
Northeast
This series of photographs was taken during travels though out my home state of New Hampshire. In recording these images, I want to celebrate not only the beauty of our unique mountains and forests but also the beauty of everyday “wild land” in this state. While swamps, abandoned gravestones or even mushrooms might not be considered extra-ordinary, they convey a mood, a forgotten history or an overlooked jewel in our landscape.
Much of the unique character of New Hampshire is defined not just by the White Mountains and the Lake Region but also by the strings of undeveloped forest land that thread their way throughout the state connecting townships, providing us with opportunities to commune with nature in our own back yards. With the explosive growth of the southern part of the state in particular, any open land that is not conserved in the next ten years will probably be developed. I hope you agree with me that it would be a great loss for all of us if this happens.
< Back
Rocky Mountains
My wife and I have spent some of our most memorable vacations hiking in our country's national parks. The photographs in this gallery are a sampling of shoots taken in Glacier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Each park has their own unique personality.
Glacier National Park has vertical, jagged mountains with deep valleys, and an abundance of waterfalls and lakes. Rocky Mountain National Park located near Denver, Colorado is the most accessible. The main road winds up above timberline and offers fabulous roadside views.
Yellowstone is perhaps one of the best known national parks but also has one of the most unique geologies of any place on earth. Its hot springs, geysers and prismatic pools made up of colorful microbial mats are dramatic and easily accessible to the visitor. The Grand Tetons are just next door, and while less volcanic, they offer snow capped mountain ranges, crystal clear lakes, and miles of wildflowers and sagebrush.
< Back
California and Northwest
This gallery is a sampling of photographs from California, Washington and Oregon park lands with a focus on some of the less heralded parks: Olympic National Park, Crater Lake National Park and Mount Rainier.
Olympic National Park, located in Washington State, is made up of two pieces. One section is a stretch of nearly endless, undeveloped beach buffered from the rest of the world by a stretch of rain forest. The second part is a higher, dryer landlocked section of mountain ranges and lakes.
Part of Washington State's Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is an extinct volcano covered by glaciers. At 14,410ft, it is one of the most prominent peaks in the area.
Crater Lake, located in Oregon, is what remains of another extinct volcano. The caldron has long since filled with rain water forming the deepest lake in North America at 1,943 feet deep.
< Back
Slot Canyons
Slot canyons are small, narrow versions of larger canyons and are formed over millions of years by the abrasive action of fast moving water loaded with sand and debris. The geological formations inside the canyons are naturally spotlighted by narrow bands of light emanating from the top. creating surrealistic patterns of colors and shapes.
This gallery includes images from Antelope Canyon and Buckskin Gulch located near Page, Arizona and some smaller canyons around Kanab, Utah. They include Red Canyon, Canyon V, and Peek-a-boo Canyon. Antelope Canyon is probably the most recognizable slot canyons in the west. Buckskin Gulch is one of the longest and deepest.
< Back
Southwest
These photographs are taken in parks in Utah and Arizona. The vastness of the Grand Canyon, the intimacy of Bryce Canyon, and the lesser known Waterholes Canyon and Wauweap Towers are all spectacular and worth a visit.
Waterholes Canyon, located near Page, Arizona is technically a slot canyon, but the most photographically interesting part is an area in the surface called "The Fins". As the sun sets, the unevenly eroded rock creates strong shadow lines or "fins" in the low angled light.
Wauweap Towers or White Towers is a set of formations along a river bed located in Bureau of Land Management property north of Page. The formation consists of a thick, soft chalky white rock with a harder brown top layer. Over time, the top layer cracked into pieces that provided protection to the softer layer directly underneath it but allowed the rest of the rock to erode away. The resulting formations of tall white stone with heads of brown rock give you the illusion of standing in a crowd of aliens. A knowledgeable guide with a four-wheel drive vehicle is a must for this visiting this site.
< Back
Canada
Description coming soon.
< Back
