On The Trail Photography

I could summarize my photography with three words: "On The Trail". Over the last thirty-five years I've hiked and scrambled hundreds of trails up mountains, through forests, into canyons, and along beaches, not to mention easier walks in parks, preserves and cityscapes. What drives me is the desire to immerse myself in the natural world, not just to see it, but to connect with its deeper spirit or essence. Ralph W. Emerson expresses this idea in his essay, "Nature":

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life---no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground---my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space---all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball: I am nothing: I see all: the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me: I am part or parcel of God."

The camera enables me to record that immersion. In a way it serves as Emerson's "transparent eyeball". My hope is that in observing my photographs you will feel the essence of the place, your own immersion, as if you were on the trail.