Artist's Statement

I've been photographing landscapes, mostly in the American West and Midwest, for nearly twenty years. As a writer I was inspired by the essays of Sigurd Olson describing the canoe country of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and Wallace Stegner reflecting on the West from the Canadian plains to the Grand Canyon. My interest in photography was piqued when I attended a lecture by Ansel Adams, who had just published "Yosemite and the Range of Light," and the next spring I attended a workshop at Yosemite with wildlife photographer Tupper Ansel Blake. Over the years I've attended workshops with acclaimed photographers such as Craig Blacklock, Galen Rowell, Bill Fortnoy and Keith Walklet. All have given me a sense of wild lands and how they touch the human spirit, providing a context to my own discoveries.

Because I travel light, I shoot  35mm cameras and optics. Though I recognize the future of digital cameras, right now high quality films such as Fuji Velvia and Kodak Ektachrome VS best suit my needs. I use a Gitzo tripod and a few basic filters when light conditions dictate: a polarizer or neutral density filter.

Hopefully, my images portray the beauty and fragility of public lands that belong to all of us, and convey to others the peace and freedom I find when I put on my hiking boots and leave the road behind.