Marguerite Garth is a photographic artist and environmentalist living in Southern California. Her artworks probe the nature of place and the complex ecological and societal issues present and observable in the landscape of the American West. Her work has been honored with twenty-two international photography awards since 2011, including ‘Photographer of the Year 2011’ by the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, the prestigious Salon Prize in London, and several first place honors from The International Photography Awards Competition (Lucie Awards).
Garth describes her work as ‘visual poetry’ and writes about her portfolio, “the forsaken”, as follows:

‘Samuel Taylor Coleridge once wrote that a form of genius was “to combine a child’s sense of wonder with the appearance which every day…. had rendered familiar.”

My project began when I noticed some old ranches off in the distance along a road I had been travelling on for years. As I explored and photographed, I began to ‘see’ a melancholy beauty that I found so beguiling. In talking to the locals, I learned these abandoned ranches were rich in California history, the land being founded by the Mormans, and some of the buildings originally built by the Earp clan, including Wyatt.

For me, these ghosts of the past have come to symbolize what Americans have forsaken in our egoistic rush towards getting the latest new thing. I adapt my photographic process to their environment by shooting only in extreme fading light and using post production techniques that add mystery and evocation.’

* this article will be published in the October, 2012 issue of Fine Art Photo Magazine along with a 15 piece portfolio of Garth’s work.