03-OCT-2018
Autumn touches the Snake River Canyon, Twin Falls, Idaho, 2018
The play of light, deep in the Snake River Canyon, is muted in this image -- nearly flat. Yet that flat light evens out the scene and strengthens the autumnal colors. That color provides a contrast to the textures of the rugged rock wall of the canyon that move horizontally through this image. A very small vertical waterfall offers a subtle, shadowed, focal point-- a contrast to the horizontal sliver of river flowing across the bottom edge of the frame.
Sunset, Peralta Canyon, Arizona, 2014
I made this dramatic landscape almost exactly as the sun was setting to the left of this scene. The low angle of warm light strikes the field of saguaro cactus, as well as the wall of Peralta Canyon in the background, illuminating the scene in orange hues and creating powerful shadows. These shadows throw each individual saguaro into sharp relief, and in turn, illuminate the canyon wall to bring out its rugged texture. There are three horizontal layers in this image. Cholla and prickly pear cactus add their textures to the bottom layer, while the layer in the middle ground is filled first with desert bush and then the illuminated saguaros. The background layer fills the frame with the wall of the canyon itself, its mass illuminated by the colors of the setting sun.
03-NOV-2014
Isolation, Peralta Canyon, Arizona, 2014
I used my spot meter to expose and focus on a brilliantly illuminated distant saguaro cactus, thereby isolating it in light and space within its surrounding. By isolating it, I am able to create a mood of loneliness within a dark and brooding atmosphere. I was able to pull some details out of the surrounding shadows when post processing this image, revealing the subtle yet dramatic rocky textures.
26-MAR-2013
Dusk in the Superstition Mountains, Gold Canyon, Arizona, 2013
Masses of yellow wildflowers, surrounded by prickly guardians of Cholla cactus, dot the flanks of the Superstition Mountains every spring. I first photographed them with the sun still high in the sky, producing nothing but descriptive “post-card” landscapes. It was essential to wait for the coming of dusk in order to make expressive images of such a striking scene as this. Just after the sun set, the landscape darkened, turning those yellow wildflowers into a foreground layer of gold at the base of these legendary mountains. The Cholla cactus plants add a transitional layer to the image. Meanwhile, the flank of the massive mountain that fills the background layer seems to be tinged with lingering patches of golden light as the day departs. Gold is a perfect metaphor for this place – for more than century, the area has been famous for its “lost gold mines,” including the still sought after “Lost Dutchman’s Mine.”
26-MAR-2013
Cactus in backlight, Gold Canyon, Arizona, 2013
The translucent needles of Saguaro and Cholla cactus plants seem to come to life when the sun sets. I made this image by shooting directly at a setting sun, yet by lowering my frame, I could crop the sun out of the picture and use its backlight to outline each of the plants with what photographers call “rim lighting.” Two large Saguaro cactus plants dominate the foreground, while additional Saguaros lead off into the distance. The middle layer of this image is carpeted in glowing Cholla Cactus, while a cluster of desert trees fills the background layer.
23-NOV-2011
A city unearthed, Miletus, Turkey, 2011
Miletus, a relatively obscure archeological site, was the greatest and wealthiest Greek city before the Persians occupied it in the middle of the 6th century BC. It is regarded as the birthplace of Western philosophy and science – where philosophers first began to speculate about naturalistic, rather than supernatural, reasons for how the world works. Today Miletus is a picturesque ruin, in every sense of those words. I interpret Miletus here as it might appear in a 19th century romantic painting – brushed with mist, and bathed in a soft nostalgic light. I reduced the color intensity somewhat to create this effect. I carry the eye forward through a foreground layer strewn with overgrown foundations, leading to a shell of an ancient structure, and finally letting it come rest in a hazy, pastoral background. I thought it an appropriate rendering for a place known for its philosophers and their ideas.
13-NOV-2011
Dust devils, Wadi Rum, Jordan, 2011
I used seven layers to express the majesty of the Jordanian desert at sunset. We move through the image starting in a foreground of sand, then to packed dirt, a middle ground of sun-splashed sand and a swirling band of dust devils, and finally to a background of dappled rock and shaded mountains. The alternating bands of shadow, light, and finally shadow again, along with luxuriant evening colors and textures, define the character of a desert steeped in the legend of Lawrence of Arabia.
25-NOV-2011
Arrival, Valletta, Malta, 2011
The dome of the Cathedral of St. John’s dominates the modest skyline of the fortress city of Valletta. I photographed our arrival in Malta from the highest deck of a cruise ship, approaching through a light rain. The pilot boat, which is guiding us into the harbor, creates a wake in the foreground that leads towards the city. The boat’s small scale offers an incongruous contrast to the broad cityscape before us. The fine mist softens detail, and complements the delicate interplay of light, color, and shadow that combine here to express the nature of this historic place.
20-APR-2011
Rim light, Goldfield, Arizona, 2011
Rim light defines the outlines of a subject by illuminating its edges from behind. In this landscape shot of saguaros near the ghost town of Goldfield, I took advantage of a setting sun to create such light. The warm light also increases the color saturation within the image. The saguaro grows only in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, Mexico, and a small part of California. Its blossom is the State Wildflower of Arizona. Saguaros can grow as high as 50 feet, and live as long as 150 years.
28-MAY-2010
Landscape near Arco, Idaho, 2010
As we traveled through south central Idaho, the weather turned on us – it began as light rain, then turned to snow showers and sleet. Suddenly, the sun broke through the layer of heavy overcast clouds, illuminating a swath of spring green on the distant hills. We pulled off the road, stumbled into the weeds at our feet, and began to photograph the light as it created five different areas of intensity before our eyes. Using a 120mm focal length, I held my camera vertically to stress these differences. The weeds at my feet take on a muted gold coloration. The clouds create a shadowy dark green band in the middle of the frame, while at the same instant, the sun grazes a field of glowing earth in the middle distance. The dark hills at the back of the scene create a portal for the focal point of the image – the glowing emerald valley just below the descending curtain of gray clouds at the top of the frame. Sometime, changing weather conditions can be a catalyst for expression –- that is the case here.
14-NOV-2009
Evening light, Monument Valley, Arizona, 2009
It’s the play of light and shadow that gives this image its expressive qualities, in this case enhanced coloration and dimensionality. The textures of the great monoliths are brought into high relief by the angle of the sun. The entire right side of the butte closest to us, as well as the front of the tower in the background fall into deep shadow, which gives the huge rocks a sense of depth as they relate to space. The colors are richly saturated as well, giving the stark subjects, which arise from a desolate desert, a memorable form of beauty.
12-NOV-2009
Morning light, Monument Valley, Arizona, 2009
Early morning colors in the desert can be very intense, reflecting the color of the sun on rock, sand, and plants alike. In this image, I layer my image with the play of light and shadow on a curving line of sage, and then back it up with the richly colored butte. The clouds that stream out from the butte seem to echo the horizontal structure of the primary and secondary subjects.