MONTAGE DEER VALLEY SHOWCASES WORK BY LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER, MICHAEL FATALI

L to R:  'Angel Arch' by Michael Fatali, Montage Deer Valley and 'Twist of Fate' by Michael Fatali

Park City, UT – (March 2, 2011) – Montage Hotels & Resorts has announced a collaboration with Michael Fatali, one of America’s leading landscape photographers, whose work is showcased in an unprecedented installation at Montage Deer Valley in Park City, Utah.  More than 30 of the artist’s original photographic works are currently displayed on the resort’s spa level, providing an inspiring look into the desert canyons and mountains of Southern Utah. 

“Spa Montage is designed to deliver total relaxation and enlightenment. Few images in the world elicit the kind of breathless reaction amongst our guests as this installation of Fatali’s work,” notes Marcus Jackson, General Manager of Montage Deer Valley.  “That the images capture Utah’s landscapes made this a natural partnership, as Montage resorts are designed to exude a true sense of place and celebrate artistry in all things – cuisine, architecture, service and the environment – and the Montage Deer Valley was built to provide an authentic and unparalleled Utah experience.” 

Montage Deer Valley is delivering an even rarer experience by providing the opportunity to meet Michael Fatali personally from 5 – 6 p.m. every Friday at Spa Montage and garner additional insight into the massive installation and the process behind the production of the awe-inspiring images.

An art critic recently remarked of Fatali’s work, “One photograph will take your breath away, two will raise goose bumps, and you’ll be blinking back tears by the time you take full measure of his newly opened gallery, ‘Sacred Earth Images,’ located on Main Street in Park City.”

Raised in the Phoenix area, Fatali’s father would take him on hikes and camping trips, instilling in him a great love and respect for the outdoors.  When he was a young teen, Fatali lost his mother to cancer. He would often trek into the Southwestern desert, where he found solace and comfort.  “These expeditions developed in me a great awareness and respect for God’s creation,” says Fatali, a deeply spiritual man.  “I still feel a child-like awe when I’m out in the desert.

Fatali has dedicated the last twenty-five years to photographing the Southwestern landscape. “I have yet to photograph anywhere else,” he says.  His love of the Southwest shaped his life mission as a voice for the gospel of nature.  He uses a large format custom built camera that he describes as “very primitive.”  It is modeled on hundred-year-old technology; and it requires full 8x10-inch glass film plates, which need to be special-ordered – they cannot be found in any ordinary photo store.

The artist finds amazing and enchanting images in places, it seems, where no one else has ventured to look. And since each photograph is printed in a limited number, the work is rare and desirable.  Guests walking into Spa Montage will feel transported into another world, another time.  Fatali credits “patience, persistence and passion” for the success of his work. “But my passion really isn’t photography,” he says.

“Making a difference by inspiring others through the beauty and power of the natural world,  that’s my life mission.”  And it is a perfect match with the mission of Spa Montage.  “The photography itself is more a case of patience, of waiting – and waiting – for just the perfect light, and capturing that moment, notes Fatali.  “I’m satisfied with my results only when someone can witness what I have seen through my images, when they can feel what I felt when I captured it.”

Perhaps the most surprising fact about Fatali’s images is that they are produced using all natural light and no enhancements – no filters, no tricks, no coloration or post image computer-enhanced production. He indeed expresses a “perfect moment in a perfect light.  

Fatali himself has a deep sense of gratitude, and an equal belief in giving back. To this end, he created the Fatali Foundation, to help bring solace to those in grief, or on a healing journey.  He has donated some of his collections of photographic originals (valued at over two million dollars) for philanthropic purposes only.

Photographic process:  Fatali original photographs are individually hand printed using Ilfochrome classic paper, formally known as Cibachrome. This artistic form of printmaking offers unparalleled stability of color and image depth like no other we have ever seen. Fatali is committed to making his photographs by hand using the "old" classic optical process, instead of "new" digital technologies which are often used for image manipulation and conformity. No computer imaging is used in his darkroom. There are very few mas
[Back to Press Releases Main]