~ Darby Hayes ~

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Artist Biography

Darby Hayes specializes in fine art landscape and wildlife photographic prints of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Western United States. His wildlife photographs feature wildlife found in the Western United States, including Alaska, and are composed to bring the viewer into a close-up, personal relationship with the wildlife subject. Mr. Hayes's landscape photographs feature dramatic lighting, color saturation and artistic composition and include photographs that feature local alpine landscapes, as well as iconic images of well known western areas and National Parks.

Award winning nature photographer Darby Hayes lives in the historic Gold Rush mountain town of Sierra City, California. He received several years of technical photographic training at San Diego State University and has spent nearly 40 years since, honing his photographic skills. With the advent of digital processing, he is now able to achieve stunning photographs that combine a dramatic and artful blend of color, light and composition that goes well beyond the tonal range of conventional film. In addition, for some photographs, Mr. Hayes has taken a step beyond traditional photography and is using his digital studio to create images on canvas, which gives a more dramatic feel and the look and sense of a fine art painting. Several of Mr. Hayes's images are in museum collections and on permanent display in the new Visitor Centers in Canyonlands National Park, Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park and the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Utah. Other images have been tentatively selected for display in other National Parks. Mr. Hayes's work is featured in corporation and governmental offices in the Sacramento and San Francisco areas and his pictures have appeared in several magazines, including the cover of the California Water Journal. Mr. Hayes allows the Sierra County Chamber of Commerce to use some of his images for its publicity efforts and samples of his landscape photography may be viewed on their website by accessing the Sierra City and Lakes Basin links. Photographs are currently available for viewing and sale in numerous galleries in the northern Sierra Nevada gold rush country and in Sacramento.

Mr. Hayes individually hand prints and hand signs each of his own photographs, utilizing the latest large format inkjet printer technology. A photograph printed by an inkjet printer is referred to as a Giclee. All Limited Edition Giclees are printed from digital negatives on acid-free archival art papers or canvas, utilizing chrome pigment inks, guaranteeing a fade-free life well beyond the anticipated life of a conventional photograph. Each Limited Edition series of hand-signed Giclees may include a mixture of prints of 13 X 19 inches or larger, the total of which will not exceed the series limit. Photographs are normally printed on 13 X 19 inch textured art paper, but larger size photographs, of up to 24 X 100 inches, can be printed on textured art paper or canvas, and are available by special order.