THE WAY OF ART

I am a photographer artist and writer. Inspiration comes from sleeping under the stars, walking in alpine mountains, hearing pines sway in wind, reading passages of Thoreau or Muir, Abbey or Han Shan. Connecting with wilderness inspires my photography, my writing, and my philosophy. I seek balance found in the way of nature. My aim is to go deeper than simple ornamental beauty, to show something more, to show what I felt, not simply what I saw. The discoveries available within my art are as varied as the places and times I photograph.

Each image has its own story, sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical. I wander and observe the light, compositional elements, and atmosphere, breaking each down into foundational elements. A solitary rock, cloud movement, a lone mountain, a tree. I compose my interpretation of the scene, working to isolate a defining element I find interesting. I use film because it slows me down and forces a kind of artistic meditation, allowing me to stand quietly, empty of thought, letting the scene flow around me. I internally visualize a final print, deciding what I want it to look and feel like. The intersection between composition, meditation, and visualization is where my technical decisions are made.

Beyond tools and technique, however, lies discovery. Landscape photography is an art form of observation, solitude, and patience. It’s an art form where the artist gets to walk into their canvas, gets to walk into themselves. Each artist must find their own way and their own voice, and the process for doing so is the foundation behind each finished piece. How an image is captured can be a fascinating journey into the depths of personal realization.

My purpose is very much the interpretation of nature and self. I will show you this and not that, and I will show it in this way and not that way. My art is not a replication; that is the function of the tool. The function of the artist is to transcend the tool for the expression, to create a piece which stands above its reality. If someone else looks upon my image and says, “ah-ha”, then they have transcended themselves and seen something. Whether or not it’s the same thing I saw is irrelevant, for I have provided the vehicle for their transcendence. That is the power of art.

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