Award-winning PPA photographer Gordon Kreplin, owner of Ascencion Photography, is well know on North Carolina’s Outer Banks for his portrait photography, but he also has a sterling collection of photographic art, a series of which is being displayed this month at the Ghost Fleet Gallery in Nags Head, N.C.

When I spoke with Kreplin this afternoon he was busily battening down the hatches for the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy, or at least the battering outer bands of the storm, as it storms past his location.

That’s reality, but the series on display at Ghost Fleet Gallery is called Available Reality, which is a little different. Kreplin explains that the concept is to strip away any preconceptions one may have about the scene portrayed in the image in front of them.

“With any type of art – whether it’s a painting, a sculpture or a photograph – the capture is not something done by the artist or photographer, but it happens because I’m available to it. It’s about pulling the veil away and allowing a relationship to take place without preconceived notions,” explains Kreplin.

To better portray Available Reality, Kreplin used Nik Software’s Silver Efex filters, particularly the infrared filter, to provide more drama, depth and dimension to the images. Most of the images were printed in black and white with a smattering of color, providing splashes of contrast in the gallery presentation.

“Some of those images didn’t work as well in color. When I switched to black and white and used the filters they popped out and became more dramatic,” says Kreplin. “The idea for me is that if the composition doesn’t work in black-and-white it doesn’t work. I always try to use that approach. In terms of zones, if it doesn’t work in color it’s not going to translate to black and white if you don’t have good exposure levels across all your zones.”

To ensure the best possible presentation, Kreplin chose LexJet Sunset Fibre Elite 285g for the print medium. Sunset Fibre Elite is one of Kreplin’s staple inkjet photo materials because it provides a wide dynamic range for his images.

“Sunset Fibre Elite accepts such a high dynamic range that it creates a better sense of depth. I’m able to cover all the zones – my blacks are really black and my whites have detail –so it allows me to broaden my vision of an image and see it a little better,” says Kreplin. “When I go from my Hasselblad RGB to Adobe RGB I can print directly to my Epson 9900 at 16-bit and the Fibre Elite really gets the dynamic detail. I absolutely love the paper.”

To view the images from Available Reality on display at Ghost Fleet Gallery, click here, and here’s a slideshow of the display in the video embedded below…