These images were first realized on the ground glass of an 8X10 large format camera. After I composed, focused, and metered the images, I inserted the film holder and selected the f-stop. With the shutter set and cocked, and the dark slide removed, I released the shutter and held my breath–as if not breathing would prevent failure of the image. Racing against time and the possibility of nature encroaching with a hearty gust of wind, the shutter whirred for a second or two before it stopped again. I released my breath. The result is moments in time burned and recorded in silver on single sheets of 8×10 film. I am drawn to the barren riches that the desert offers with its wilderness of sharp patterns, mottled hues and sun-bleached rock formations. It is a harshly illuminated landscape that can overpower and bewilder the eye. In this desert environment–where it is easy to wonder if nature has in fact died–there is an essential character that reveals itself through careful observation. I place my camera before a landscape subject and take in every detail. I am interested in conveying the subtle essence of a subject through its natural form with a sharply focused but gentle intensity. A different world begins when these natural formations are distilled, revealing themselves to me in this moment of motionlessness. There is only one negative and thus but one chance to produce the image. Within moments the evanescent beauty of the desert–lovely and strange and frequently subtle–shifts again under the piercing rays of the sun. Image Titles: 1. Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley, California 2. Badlands, Death Valley, California 3. Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California 4. Golden Canyon, Death Valley, California
