On Film
“The only things in life that compatibly exist with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit.”
- Ansel Adams
Above: Scenes of the 'Tour du Mont Blanc,' a trek through valley towns and alpine cols of France, Switzerland, and Italy (circumnavigating the Mont Blanc Massif).
Below: Scenes from the desert and plains of Southern Utah.
Photography is not the construction of some archive of events or people. It is not a meticulous process, or one with an end goal, and it cannot be done correctly or incorrectly. Instead, photography is a meditation on our own humanity, and what it means to make way in this world.
Three slides of the French Alps near Chamonix.
And what better way to emphasize the photogrpher's activce involvment in this art than showcasing some uinfiltered exposures of 120 (I use a medium sized, Black and White film stock) from an Old Mamiya 645?
We often ask the question, “Why do I matter?” and our desire to reflect provides the only beginning towards an answer. For me, photography is this very reflection. Sometimes it is clear as spring. Other times it is dark and stormy and frustratingly cryptic. But all the time, it is a breath in, a release, an understanding, and an acceptance. One long sought after. In this light, it is act more than art; a conversation with viewers, or a tango with the mountain light. The click of the shutter becomes side-effect, or else disappears completely.
Above: The endless sandstone walls of Zion and Moab are a paradise for traditional climbers.
Below: In-body double exposures from Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and the Dixie National Forest.
The first (film) photo I ever took, at the age of 14 with a waterproof disposable. A friend of mine leads the wade towards Munson Island, an uninhabited key in the central Atlantic. Dropped off by boat, all of our belongings are stowed in waterproof bags as we navigate the Stingrays and Lemon Sharks who gaurd the Sargassum-covered shores.
