Steffen Mittelhaeuser

Ponce Inlet Beach, 2007/2008.

Photograph.  Giclee print.  15 5/8 x 39 3/4 inches.

Permanent collection of the Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, FL.

Selected as a gift by Sister Cities Association of Volusia County and presented to Governor

Jorge Carlos Hurtado Valdez for the State of Campeche, Mexico's permanent art collection.

Price available upon request

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Mr. Mittelhaeuser was born in Crailsheim, Germany and moved to the United States to pursue

his interest in photography.  He received his BA from Bowling Green State University and his

MFA from the University of Michigan.  He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Photography at

the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies.  This is a deceivingly simple photograph in

terms of content.  The beach is relatively bare and void of people.  The sky is blue and

inviting.  But the real strength of this photograph, I think, is how it abstracts over time.  Viewed

from a distance, the panoramic perspective reflects upon itself from one side to the other, and

the ballooning effect of the distortion emphasizes the real content of the image--the jutting

lines of the footprints left in the sand--marks left behind in the landscape by the humans.  And

then, finally, there's the dense contrast of the highlights in the foam of the ocean waves which

appear to be painted with oil on top of the surface of the photograph with bold strokes of

titanium white.  All topped off with a cumulus pompadour!

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