An Artist's Statement

Ever since I was a child growing up in Kansas, the natural world fascinated me.  I loved everything I saw, from the sky above me to the dirt beneath my shoes.  I loved rocks, trees, bugs, and birds... everything.  I remember getting down on my belly to look at the grass as if I were a bug myself.  What wonders i would discover!

I continued my love affair with Nature majoring in Biology at Brigham Young University, also enjoying Astronomy, Meteorology, and Geology classes, before getting my teaching certificate and beginning a career in Education.

Eliot Porter: Redbud...

One day I discovered a poster of an Eliot Porter print, "Redbud Trees in Bottomlands..." that really drew me in.  I stood there looking at it in the store before I bought it.  It was the most beautiful picture I had ever seen!  I hung it up in my junior high school classroom, and it seemed to bring me serenity and joy every time I looked at it.  Today, I try to emulate Mr. Porter's photography.

I am very aware of my place as a human in this world.  I walk here at the interface of Sky and Earth with all my many and varied brothers and sisters, the microbes, fungi, plants, and animals that share this planet with me.  I am so glad to be alive here and now on this amazing planet.  In my photographs I try to capture the wonders of nature I see around me.  Some are grand, others are awe inspiringly small.  On my trip out into the field, because of my camera, I am a pretty slow hiker.  I frequently stop to take pictures when my companions want to keep trekking.  I tell them that I will catch up, but never quite make it.

You will discover that I have some themes:  "Sky Above, Earth Below" landscapes that seem to remind me of my place as a human living at the interface; 

"Looking into Trees" and thickets, branches, etc.;

"Grasses and Wildflowers;"

and "Terragraphy" which will be close up views of the ground, musing over the interesting geometries of the natural litter and the tiniest inhabitants.

My talents and cameras are modest.  I am most certainly an amateur, with little formal training.  I currently use a Nikon 1 J1 with Nikkor 10-30 and 30-110 lenses, a Canon PowerShot SD750, and my Moto E cell phone camera.  I edit my photographs on Google Photos.

I hope to capture the beauty of life in the natural world around me where ever I might be, and that you enjoy my shared vision.