Craig Dunstan-McGrail

Craig Dunstan-McGrail was born in Missoula Montana. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography and ceramics from the University of Montana in 1974. He then completed his Master of Fine Arts in ceramics and sculpture at the University of Utah in 1977. He currently works and lives in Bellingham Washington with his wife Sandford and their dog Shane.

Artist Statement

Sequence and Motion

A basic convention of photography is that the image should be in the sharpest focus possible. The images in this series challenge that convention by being created while the camera is in motion. Called “Sequences and Motion” each sequence consists of 3 to 7 exposures taken in rapid succession. The movements I make while capturing the images are different every time. Not all sequences create usable images, but they all provide unexpected and sometime exciting results. The colors blend, the individual elements blur to form new shapes, the textures turn into patterns, and the final image becomes something other than what caught my eye initially. The subject matter for most of these images is architectural, but the results suggest landscapes and the female form.