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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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animal art

Burrito in Monochrome

January 19, 2020 by Anthony

The chimpanzees’ world is full of color.

In the spring, the landscape blooms with eye-catching wildflowers and green foliage that seem to radiate color and warmth. Summers are characterized by deep turquoise skies. Crisp autumn days turn the surrounding meadows a shiny gold and decorate the surrounding forest with speckles of red, orange and yellow. Even now, in the deep winter, the muted skies and pale snow are overshadowed by the emerald tint of the numerous evergreen trees. Regardless of season, the busy Chimp House itself is always full of colorful blankets, enrichment, produce, tools, and even some sensible wall decor.

Despite all this light flowing around us, capturing compelling portraits of the chimps is usually difficult. For one thing, the chimps and humans are always separated by steel caging, a chimp-proof window or an electrified barrier. These structures wreak havoc on camera lenses and need to be focused out. Even when the chimpanzees are foraging or patrolling outdoors, they are often hundreds of feet away, obscured by dense foliage, or sprinting around the habitat (see: Missy). Sometimes, the bright sunlight creates harsh shadows that yield miserable photographs. Indoor lighting is also a challenge, to put it lightly, and using flash on an alert chimpanzee would be a horrible idea.

However, there is one place in the whole sanctuary where capturing portraits of the chimpanzees seems to be easier than anywhere else. Although it is formally known as Front Room 4, the staff often refer to one of the chimpanzees’ favorite locations as “The Portrait Studio” (1, 2, 3, 4). It’s popularity is likely due to the wide bench that is perfectly situated for looking down the hallway into the bustling kitchen and foyer. From the same vantage, they also can see out the window towards the garden, driveway, hay barn, neighboring cattle pasture, and even across the sanctuary to the opposite ridgeline. It’s a dream come true for nosy chimpanzees, but we caregivers appreciate the space for a different reason; the north-facing window bathes the chimpanzees in soft lighting that is well-suited for portraits.

When Burrito sat in that beam of diffuse light a couple of days ago, as he often does, I decided to snap a bunch of photos and then immediately forgot about them. Today, as I began to formulate a direction for today’s blog post, I rediscovered the series on my camera’s memory card. I then tinkered with the photographs in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, a program commonly used for organizing and manipulating images. Of all the edits I made, I realized that I liked the way Burrito looked without any color. Black-and-white suits Bubba well.

A century ago, most photography was monochrome (gray or sepia) by default. Now, omitting or removing the hue from an image is something photographers and filmmakers purposefully do in order to create a certain aesthetic. As far as our work at CSNW is concerned, I think such a practice has merit. By taking color out of the equation, I feel more attuned to how light flows into the chimpanzees’ home, across the imposing barriers that separate us from them, and onto their facial features. It showcases the depth of their physical space and reminds me that their world, which I can only explore in a superficial manner, has a similar profundity. Furthermore, anatomical structures like hairs, wrinkles, muscles, scars and callouses give character and topography to what would otherwise be registered as a homogeneous gray body. Perhaps this medium highlights some of their more peculiar nonhuman traits while simultaneously making such differences between us and them seem more trivial. Whatever is going on in our eyes and brains, I like portraying them in this way.

Below are my favorites from the series. During processing, I tried not to dramatically alter the overall lighting, hoping instead to preserve the reality of Burrito’s location and mood. What I did tinker with, however, was the relative luminance of the various hues in the photographs, thereby changing how colors contributed to the lightness and darkness in each. Using such a mixer enabled me to create distinct portraits that were taken only seconds apart. For perspective, you can look at the print on the wooden toy block in Burrito’s hand (which is actually dark green, but appears different in each edit). I think that each has its own tone, and perhaps tells a different story. I’ll let you all be the judges.

 

1. In this portrait, I brightened purple, magenta and red hues.

 

2. This portrait is composed of mostly green and cyan hues.

 

3. I brightened red and orange light in this version, dampening cooler hues.

 

4. For this edit, I allowed all hues to contribute equally to the image but altered the lighting as a whole.

 

5. The lighting in this version is mildly edited but I left the coloration intact.

Filed Under: Art, Burrito Tagged With: animal art, animal sanctuary, Animal Welfare, apes, black and white, chimp, chimpanzee, chimpanzee portrait, chimpanzees, chimps, great apes, monochrome, photography, portrait photography, primate, primate sanctuary, Primates, Sanctuary

Art for chimp’s sake

September 5, 2009 by Diana

I am SO excited about the donations that we have for our Celebrate the Seven auction (Buy tickets)

In addition to some incredible getaway packages, wine excursions and bottles of wine, restaurant gift certificates, and tons of fun, fun stuff, we have art that was donated specifically for this auction. Many pieces are illustrations and paintings of chimpanzees, including the Cle Elum Seven. Below are just a few.

In a few days, I will post a one-of-a-kind necklace made by CSNW supporter Tamela – it will absolutely blow you away.

Be sure to get your tickets today and tell others about the auction! You can also spread the event through Facebook.

Margaret Parkinson’s 12x12in painting, “Negra in the Sun”
I have seen this in person and attendees are going to have to outbid me for this piece
web_negra-in-the-sun_dsc3762

Colin Redmon’s illustration of Jamie
Colin has been working for the past several months on ink illustrations of all seven of the chimpanzees for the auction – all of which are breathtaking.
web-jamie-by-colin

Sally-Anne Ryan’s 24x20in painting, “Foxie and the Troll”
UK based artist Sally-Anne Ryan has an incredible talent for creating chimpanzee paintings:

web_foxie-by-sally-anne-ryan_img_2207

Linda Griffin’s “Beautiful Hero” painting of Negra
Linda contacted us months ago about donating something for the auction. I had no idea the outcome would be so wonderful!
web_linda-griffin-negra

Filed Under: Events, Foxie, Fundraising, Jamie, Negra, Sanctuary, Thanks, Volunteers Tagged With: animal art, animal rescue, Animal Welfare, Art, auction, chimpanzee, chimpanzee sanctuary, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Foxie, Fremont Abbey, Fundraising, Jamie, Negra, painting, primate rescue, Sanctuary, seattle, troll

Video of Jamie drawing!

June 21, 2008 by Diana

Filed Under: Sanctuary Tagged With: animal art, Animal Welfare, Buckshire, chimp art, chimp rescue, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum, csnw

photos – legos box, painting, missy in bed

June 20, 2008 by Diana

Jamie looking in Lego box

Jamie with paint brush, Missy looking in lego box

Missy in bed

Filed Under: Sanctuary Tagged With: animal art, Animal Welfare, chimpanzee painting, chimpanzee rescue, chimpanzee research, chimpanzee retirement, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum 7, Cle Elum Seven, csnw, Enrichment

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PO Box 952
Cle Elum, WA 98922
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509-699-0728
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EIN: 68-0552915

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