William Garnett Aerial Photographs

[Merg Ross]

Here is a direct link to what Merg mentioned:

http://www.scottnicholsgallery.com/a...lliam-garnett/

Thank you for doing that. By the way, there is a link between Scott Nichols and Garnett. Scott was Garnett's student at UC Berkeley in the Environmental Design Department (1970's) where William taught photography. Through that relationship, Scott was introduced to Garnett's good friend Brett Weston, and the idea of a photography gallery was born; Scott Nichols Gallery. Still going strong after forty years, recently relocated to Sonoma, Ca. from San Francisco.

[Drew Wiley]

Indirectly related. But is the relocation just another casualty of the entropy of downtown gentrification, or perhaps a pre-retirement option to less nervous terrain? Relocating is alway a risky step when a limited circle of clientele is involved; but it seems they've got other avenues set up to show actual samples, and not just a web presence. Sonoma is still healing after quake and fire, but I'd rather go there than to SF to see an exhibition.

[Andrew Tymon]

There is a chapter on William Garnett in the book "Landscape Theory" Lustrum press, 1980.

[Merg Ross]

Indirectly related. But is the relocation just another casualty of the entropy of downtown gentrification, or perhaps a pre-retirement option to less nervous terrain? Relocating is alway a risky step when a limited circle of clientele is involved; but it seems they've got other avenues set up to show actual samples, and not just a web presence. Sonoma is still healing after quake and fire, but I'd rather go there than to SF to see an exhibition.

Several factors, Drew. Scott has been contemplating a move for a long time as rents increased in that Geary St. building, and other gallery owners began to flee. I think that those he sold to, the serious buyers, would be just as happy visiting him in wine country as in San Francisco. He has a good location in Sonoma, closer to his home, and without the daily commute across the Golden Gate Bridge. You are probably aware that Brett Weston is his specialty, work he started collecting in the 70's before the boom. Sonoma will recover, and always be a destination.

[Drew Wiley]

Thank you once again for your special insights, Merg. Downtown Sonoma, if it can be called a downtown, had earthquake damage to older buildings, but largely escaped the surrounding fires. But it put quite a dent in seasonal visitorship. But if he's mainly dependent upon longstanding known clients, relocation won't be a significant issue. I looked at the area for gallery use myself, and while it might have been a realistic commute in more youthful years, it certainly isn't now! I've been peripherally involved in a remodeling project even further up the line in Calistoga, but did that in my own shop here, and didn't need to do the installation myself. I would like to drive that way soon and see what has greened up after the fires. Another fire narrowly missed a friend of mine right across the Carquinez strait, which actually jumped the River briefly into Crockett, where the channel is nearly a mile wide. I spent Saturday with another fellow who lost a house to the Santa Rosa fire, but fortunately it was vacant at the time because they had already begun relocating for other reasons. I love the large live oaks around Sonoma. They make certain restaurant outdoor settings inviting. "Oak-land" has lost all of its own, at least the ones down on the flats for which the city was named. I think the last one was cut down around 1910. They were used for barges and docks etc, being quite a bit bigger than the many oaks still remaining up in the hills. I was hoping to go back out today with some heavier artillery and rephotograph some big live oaks inland which I shot last week scouting around with the 6x7, but want a bit closer replication of the same light, maybe tomorrow.