Painted Landscape

Turkey Tails | 91"x22" | 27 photographs

My pursuit of nature photography began as a pursuit for timeless, iconic images that glorified nature as steadfast. In the years since, my work has evolved to shatter that illusion. Because of local and global environmental threats posed by climate disruption, the planet as portrayed by iconic imagery may not be the planet we pass along. The issues are urgent and so the images must be large.

To achieve this, I photograph landscapes piecemeal with a telephoto lens and stitch them together over many rows and columns. Using combinations of slow shutter speed and intentional camera movement, I extract photographs with brushstroke-like qualities that range from impressionistic to abstract – images that literally blur the reality of nature. This process is often repeated multiple times over several hours, days and seasons to capture light and weather changes from the same location. My ethics, honed through years of photojournalism, prohibit digital manipulation. All visual effects come from the camera movement I use when making single photographs.

The numerous layers are blended together in Photoshop using masks and brush tools to remove opacity at various percentages. This might be done over large areas of the image or to emphasize smaller details. In the end, each illustration is an interpretation of the many realities of changing landscapes over time, a reflection of nature as we know it and nature slipping away.

Big Four | 60"x60" | 85 photographs
Offshore | 60"x48" | 104 photographs
Panamint | 47"x29" | 32 photographs
Sago Poison | 40"x28" | 42 photographs
Blossom & The Fly | 38"x26" | 47 photographs
Healing Tree | 104"x72" | 146 photographs
Freezing Spray | 40"x32" | 49 photographs
Kalaloch | 21"x24" | 15 photographs
Bridalveil | 19"x24" | 13 photographs
Inspiration Point | 44"x26" | 27 photographs