Artwork copyright Daniel Carrillo. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Daniel Carrillo. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

Artwork copyright Daniel Carrillo. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

SHO Horse Head & Flame, 2020

Daniel Carrillo
(Mexican-American, born 1973)

Location: Pioneer Elementary School, Shelton

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

SHO Horse Head & Flame is a photograph by Daniel Carrillo. It was taken using a telescope and a camera.

Carrillo notes, “The skies in and around the city have become so light polluted that it is impossible to really get a sense of the vastness of outer space and our very special place in it. From my backyard in West Seattle, only the brightest stars are visible even on the clearest of nights. In 2018 I bought a very old and cheap telescope at a yard sale and was completely amazed when I pointed it at Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon. From there I upgraded my equipment. Thanks to technology and software I have learned how to construct images in the same way that the Hubble Telescope does. The camera that I use is a very sensitive black and white camera and has filters that only let in very specific bandwidths. Since many of the deep sky objects are very large, I use a relatively small 4-inch telescope. The telescope and camera are precisely pointed by a robotic tripod that takes into account the rotation of the earth and allows for very long exposures without any blur. For one photograph, there are up to 30 hours of exposure that are digitally stacked to bring out the faintest details. The color from the photographs is accomplished by assigning a specific filter to a specific color. Hydrogen Alpha is Green, Sulfur is Red, and Oxygen is Blue. This combination is referred to as the ‘Hubble Palette.’ This project was started in late 2019, and I find space to be a constant source of awe and inspiration.”

This artwork is part of a curated collection by Dawna Holloway in May 2021 at Pioneer Elementary, in Shelton, Western Washington. Holloway’s focus is the mystery of this world we find ourselves in together. Art can show us the world around us, as well as new ways of looking. Art is a tool and a language to express our vision of the world. These art examples remind us that art and its expression is always available to all of us.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Pioneer School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Daniel Carrillo is a mezzotint artist and photographer. He works with wet plate collodion photgraphy (an antique photgraphy process which has been in use since 1850) to create timeless and unique images. Born in Mexico and raised in California, he moved to Seattle in 1997. He has been shooting photographs since high school and printmaking since 2006.