Merle Somerville
Oliver, BC

Merle has been photographing landscapes for over 30 years; photographing more than 100 British Columbia parks and scouting locations in the USA, Australia, Central America and the South Pacific. His work has been published by several national magazines, tourism marketers and recently the Knowledge Network in celebrating British Columbia’s 150th Anniversary.

Although Merle served as a commercial photographer and owner of a professional photo lab for twenty years, he is best known now for his photo-based artwork. With the emergence of digital imaging and the various effects made possible by the digital darkroom, Merle’s new work has begun to show influence of a pictorialism style (a movement of the early 20th century which subscribed to the idea that art photography needs to emulate the painting).

Now located in the South Okanagan his first body of work featuring BC viticulture showcased coloured-sepia landscapes and still life (cover of the Fall Wine Trails Special Food Issue 09 Magazine), printed using the “giclée” print process and was selected for the prestigious Fidelis Art Prints, “Vineyard Art Collection ‘08”.

“No greater reward exists for me than to produce a
photograph that expresses my thoughts and emotions—and to have those felt and understood by someone else.”

www.merlesomerville.com