ABOUT THE ARTIST

CHASE BARTHOLOMEW

Chase Bartholomew

Grandson to a national park ranger on one side, and a sheepherder turned rocket scientist on the other, an appreciation for nature and the skies above are in my DNA. Originally raised in the Pacific Northwest, my family later migrated to the Wasatch Front where my appreciation for the beauty of the natural world only expanded. Now a board-certified internal medicine physician practicing in northern Utah, my medical studies and residency training have introduced me to the surreal deserts of Arizona, the pristine beaches of Southern California, the daunting 14ers of Colorado, and even a short stint along the rugged coast of Maine before coming full circle to the place I call home in the shadow of the iconic Mount Timpanogos in American Fork, Utah.

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have always resided in places engulfed in awe-inspiring scenery, and began taking it upon myself to capture that awe with the incredible gift of photographic technology with my first DSLR purchase in 2013. I have since spent the last decade venturing into the wilderness, pursuing the best light in the most jaw-dropping and hard-to-reach places across the Intermountain West to bring home my best representations of these incredible landscapes.

While this passion for majestic landscapes naturally evolved into a love for photographing wildlife that I encountered on my many trips into the wild, I took a particular interest in the Moon and specifically that short monthly window where twilight meets the rising and setting moon on the horizon. And with that, the infinite combinations of distant landscapes that can be partnered with the moon as a product of careful planning and timing to arrive at precisely the right place at exactly the right time— and with state of the art high powered optics in hand— the opportunity to create otherworldly (yet entirely true to reality) images of that special moment of interaction between our planet and its lone satellite. The time spent mastering this unique artform has provided my portfolio with a true niche, which is the origin of “Moonscapes”

“How is the moon so big?”

It all comes down to optics.

My camera bag includes some of the best telephoto optics money can buy.

Nikon, world-renowned for their class-leading selection of state-of-the art supertelephoto prime lenses, has been my brand of choice since taking up the art of photography over a decade ago. Over the years, I have carefully collected 4 Nikon camera bodies and 10 lenses as my experience built an understanding and appreciation for the technical specs gained in each subsequent upgrade.

My current moonscapes setup includes the high resolution Nikon Z7 paired with one of Nikon’s groundbreaking Phase Fresnel lenses, of which I own the trinity of the 300mm f/4, 500mm f/5.6, and 800mm f/6.3 lenses. These high-powered optics, developed with the same Phase Fresnel technology used to build lighthouse lenses since the 1800’s, allow me to view the moon in perfect clarity at a vast range of powerful focal lengths, while traveling light enough to get my gear into extreme environments without breaking my back. Paired with teleconverters, I can reach focal lengths as long as a staggering 1120mm without any sacrifice in optical quality. This allows me to fill a massive portion of the 45.7 megapixel Z7 frame with the Moon. With strategic planning, that massive moon can be viewed in the same frame with as many combinations of distant landscapes as my imagination and the Moon cycles can work together to create.

Unfortunately, in the world of digital photography and social media influencer culture where “likes” trump artistic integrity, many photoshop savvy photographers have learned ways to deceive the public by adding or enlarging the Moon in their landscape photography in post-production or by creating “composite” images where multiple exposures are combined to create the illusion of a frame that never existed in reality. I view this practice as an insult to the integrity of photography and is something that I never engage in. All of my moonscapes are created in a single exposure without any in-camera or post production tricks to enhance the size or location of the Moon in the photograph. I work only with what the laws of physics allows me to see in my viewfinder.

What’s in my bag?

Camera bodies:

  • Nikon Z7

  • Hasselblad X2D 100C - new to my bag in 2024, replacing my Nikon for many use cases (aside from my telephoto work with the moon and wildlife)

Lenses:

HASSELBLAD

  • Hasselblad XCD 4/21 (wide angle landscape lens)

  • Hasselblad XCD 45p (close to a “human eye” field of view)

  • Hasselblad XCD 3,2/90 (for tighter landscapes and portraits)

NIKON

  • NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 S (primary moon lens/distant wildlife)

  • NIKKOR AF-S 500mm f/5.6 PF (My go-to hiking all-purpose wildlife lens)

  • NIKKOR AF-S 300mm f/4 PF (Hybrid wildlife/long landscape lens)

Tripods

  • Benro Mammoth (My go to for roadside photography and short hikes)

  • Benro Slim Travel Tripod (Extremely lightweight tripod for big hikes)

  • Benro Mach 3 (Backup tripod when doing timelapse work)

Tripod Heads

  • RRS BH-50 Ball head (Absolute tank of an all-purpose ball head)

  • Benro 3-way Geared Head (Must-have for precision long lens work)

  • Benro IB0 Ball Head (Paired to my Benro Slim when traveling light)

Backpacks

  • Shimoda Explore 40L (Camera backpack for dayhikes)

  • Shimoda Action X70 (Camera backpack for overnighters/backpacking)

Print Formats

Prints will ship roughly 7-10 days from the order date. They should arrive at your home within about 2 weeks (give or take a few days) from the date ordered. Additional supplier-based delays can occur with the framed prints.

When you place your order, I transcribe that order exactly according to your selections and place the order with my printing service the same day. As such, all sales are considered final. If your print arrives in damaged or poor condition for whatever reason (highly unlikely as they go above and beyond to protect them with their packaging) email me with pics and I will reach out to the printing service for a replacement.

Watch the video below for a more in-depth explanation on the differences between the offered formats.

HD Metal: Printed on a Chromaluxe aluminum panel using heat sublimation technology. Mounted on a back floating frame. This format has a high-gloss, premium finish with an industrial aesthetic. Ideal for maximizing color depth and contrast. Slightly less glare than you will encounter on the acrylic prints. Like the acrylic prints, these prints respond great to special lighting to create a gallery ambiance but also pack an impressive punch in any well-lit room.

Acrylic: Similar high gloss premium finish as the HD Metal, however printed under 1/8” thick optically clear acrylic glass with the same back floating frame as the HD Metal prints. With its crystal clear, true-to-reality finish, acrylic prints are ideal for preserving all of the ultra fine details in a photograph. When combined with special lighting (overhead picture lights, spotlights, etc), these prints will explode with vibrance and luminescence to give an unmatched sense that you are there in person. They also look fantastic in any well-lit room.

Canvas: These are printed directly onto a canvas surface and stretched onto a wooden frame to give a clean, frameless wrap-around look. This highly versatile print format is a great option if you wish to avoid glare or if you are looking for the artistic texturized quality of canvas. These are also slightly easier to handle and transport than the other options, not to mention more affordable.

Loose print: Printed on fine art matte paper. This gives you the flexibility to frame or mount the print as you please. Take extra caution not to bend or damage these until you get them properly framed and protected.

Framed print: Printed on fine art matte paper with an acrylic glass front. Offered in 4 standard stylish framing options, all of which are priced and designed the same: black, white, oak, and charcoal brown. The frames are 2 inches wide with a minimalist flat design, and thus you should account for an extra 4 inches in width and height when determining the print size. For example, if you are ordering a 36”x24” print, the external dimensions of the final product will be 40”x28”. Framed prints do not come with a mat. If you would prefer a mat, I recommend going with the loose print so you are able to customize framing and mats on your end.

Not just the Moon

While Moonscapes give my portfolio a unique niche, a larger share of my available prints cover a vast range of general landscape and wildlife photography: all of which I hold to the same standard as my Moonscape prints.

Each print represents a likely 2 A.M. wakeup call and a solo pre-dawn journey into the dark unknown to arrive at that special place in the magical moment when the light hits.

Shop my prints to find the image that speaks to the aesthetic you are looking for in your home.

FOLLOW ME ON MY PHOTO EXPEDITIONS

Subscribe to my youtube channel where I post a variety of vlog style hiking and nature photography content along with drone footage on location where many of the available prints were captured.