I have printed and framed 32 of my favorite landscape photos for my first gallery exhibit. The prints will be on display in the Tate Gallery at:
Christ Congregational Church
9525 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20901
and will run from October 1, 2013 through November 30, 2013. If you are interested in viewing it, please call 301-585-8010 for viewing hours.
The title of the exhibit is For the Beauty of the Earth. For the Beauty of the Earth is one of the first hymns I learned in Sunday school as a child. I still get choked up when singing it, undoubtedly because it taps into tender childhood memories, but also because it reminds me how beautiful and precious our planetary home is. The photos in this exhibit represent my efforts to record and share examples of natural beauty that stir my heart. It will be obvious to the viewer that what attracts my photographer’s eye usually involves scenes of tranquility, peacefulness, still water, color and big sky. People are absent from these photos, thereby creating the opportunity for the viewer to feel unburdened, “off the net,” and open to communing with God, nature, beauty, and chance without the distractions of daily life.
Chronologically the exhibit begins with a photo of a creek flowing slowly through a redwood forest in northern California, sunlight peeking through the tall trees, taken on the winter solstice of 2010. The exhibit ends with a view of sunset from the summit of Cadillac Mountain, Mount Desert Island, Maine, with evergreen trees in abundance, taken on the summer solstice of 2013. Aside from these two continental and solar bookends, most of the photos contain little that is green. The majority were taken in Death Valley National Park and in the Mono Lake basin, both of which are in eastern California. The vastness of these places fills me with feelings of possibility, wonder, and awe.
The arid climate and austere surroundings of eastern California are inhospitable, to be sure, but they give rise to dramatic beauty, especially at sunrise and sunset. The rising full moon appears to be bouncing like a beach ball along a ridge. The color of sunrise at Zabriskie Point and movement of shadow across the floor of Death Valley are stunning. One scene at Artist’s Palette reminds me of a mouth-watering double-scoop serving of mint chip and chocolate ice cream. I love the sensuous curves of the sand dunes sculpted by the wind at Stovepipe Wells. Photos taken in the Mono Lake basin include unique tufa formations, groves of aspen trees, snow-capped eastern Sierras, and an abandoned gold mining town, a mix of images that stirs my imagination. Just to bring us back home, there are two photos taken on a foggy morning at Angler’s bridge along the C&O canal, scenes of ethereal beauty and serenity.
I hope that you experience the wonder and beauty of God’s creation in this space as I do.