Size: 7.5” x 7.5” on 8.5” x 11” JonCone Studio Type 5 Paper

Signed & stamped in verso

The day I shot this was a torrential downpour in Zion. It was really coming down and after several hours of it I and the mate I was with were completely soaked; clothes, cameras, lens, all of it. We parked ourselves in the museum bathroom and ran the heated hand dryer continuously for over an hour. The room became a sauna but we eventually got all our gear dry, the lenses being the most concerning.

It’s a simple story but one I look back on fondly for it represents a time in my work that was free. Free in that it wasn’t encumbered by anything more than creative yearning. No competition or business, just art. Is that possible when the art must also pay for life. Poetically I want to think so, that just being honest in the work and passion is enough. But I know otherwise. Passion and honesty are not always enough and art can take a back seat to practicality.

But then where can practicality and art meet; in the print, at a gallery show, in a workshop or classroom? It’s a question I’ve struggled with my entire career and I have no answers.

Location: Zion National Park

Technical Info: Hasselblad, Kodak T-Max 100 BW Film, Zeiss 50mm, Red #25, Polarizer, Kodak X-tol 1:1.