WHO IS IAN COBLE
Ian Coble is an award winning commercial/ advertising photographer based in Seattle, Los Angeles and Hawaii. He was just named one of the 200 Best Ad Photographers in the world for 2020. You've probably seen his work before for companies like Michelob, Amazon, Nikon, Red Bull, Patagonia and many, many others. Ian shoots commercial work full time, but the fine art collection was launched as a platform to showcase and share the personal projects he shoots for fun.
THE WATER COLLECTION
Wanting to diversify his commercial photography, Ian bought an underwater housing and began experimenting on personal shoots. As he spent more time in the water and refining his skills with underwater, he turned his attention from shooting people in underwater environments, to the details he saw underwater. Most every underwater photo he found in the art world was a very literal depiction of the underwater world. Ian wanted something different and instead decided to focus on the details and textures that were more ethereal and abstract.
THE LIFE CYCLE COLLECTION
This collection of images was originally created as a gift for Ian’s fiance. When she had had to remove a handful of cherished trees from her yard due to insect infestation, Ian wanted to create a series of artistic prints to commemorate them, as they had been wonderful additions to the home and yard. Testing various mediums to document these trees, he played with ink transfer but ultimately wasn’t happy with the details this produced. After experimenting further, he turned to his camera to document these trees as it could show added details and textures to the print. Working with his printer he also found alternate paper options where he could print each piece on wood pulp paper to tie it back to the material the tree came from. Finally, he has printed each piece at life size scale so that it truly represents the scale of the tree it came from.
As he has created additional pieces since that initial iteration for his fiance, he has focused his efforts to sustainably harvested trees that he has personally harvested from the forest.