The Invisible Landscape

Ever since first carrying my camera into the landscape, I have been fascinated by the interaction of light, water, and flora at the water’s edge. In these malleable landscapes, the movement of a cloud, or leaf, or a breath of air continually alters the scene before me. I can rarely visualize a complete image, but instead must sit thigh-deep in the water immersed in my subject and respond to the changes around me. Creating each image is an experiment. 

As I photograph, a composition can look complete and meaningful in one moment and random and disordered in the next. I try to discover that edge. I try to push the balance between what is known—the shape and size of a leaf—and what is difficult to interpret: the scale and orientation of the space, the interplay of figure and ground, the physical nature of the objects and surface. In this way, I challenge myself to look deeper and see in these ephemeral landscapes a scene made whole in my imagination.

Working Method

My approach to photographing in these close-up landscapes has not changed since I discovered the subject matter thirty-five years ago. I work with a view camera on a tripod, two lens, and I always focus across the water’s surface. This simple, direct working method forces me to concentrate on a basic fundamental: how I can see the landscape through my camera. It allows me to experience the natural landscape as internal place illuminated by my imagination.