Photographer's Statement
In 1963, the Sierra Club published The Place No One Knew, a book of Eliot Porter’s photographs of Glen Canyon on the Colorado River, which indicted our society for foolishly damming and flooding one of the most beautiful places on earth. Porter’s images were my first revelation in color landscape photography; looking at them, I wanted my camera, like his, to make a plea for wild areas.
When Porter called his images “intimate landscapes,” I thought he was referring to their emphasis on foreground (sometimes to the exclusion of any background at all). Over time, I have come to see additional meanings for the phrase, including deep knowledge and love. An artist who knows and loves his or her subject can perhaps come closer to doing it justice.
Originally a native of Minnesota, I moved to Oregon to attend Lewis & Clark College. While earning a degree in biology, I took a black-and-white photography workshop at the Malheur Environmental Field Station in southeastern Oregon. I fell in love with photographing nature, which for me combined two strong interests. After graduating in 1973, I was drawn to the independent lifestyle of a professional artist. Searching for pristine landscapes, I spent time in the wilderness skiing, backpacking and kayaking, and making photographs all the while. For forty years, I have traveled throughout the West and exhibited my prints in numerous museums and galleries.
In 1988, motivated by Oregon’s landmark river legislation, I began making photographs for a book to celebrate our rivers. Oregon Rivers, which joins my photographs of the rivers in Oregon’s wild and scenic river system with essays by John Daniel, was published in 1997. Making these photographs provided me the opportunity for a long-term immersion in intimate landscapes. I made repeated visits to all of the fifty-six designated wild and scenic rivers in Oregon, hiking along (and often in) the rivers, roaming up and down the canyons and drainages surrounding them, and seeking to capture on film the contours and facets of landscape that make up a river system. I also kayaked and canoed many of the rivers in order to visit remote sections.
My current body of work continues to be inspired by the natural world. It is my hope that these photographs will inspire others to cherish and protect our existing wild areas.
For further information, or for studio appointments in Portland, Oregon, please call 503.234.5288.
Education
- Lewis and Clark College B.S. Degre, Biology, cum laude, 1973
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- Sunbird Gallery Bend, Oregon 2004
- Art Source Gallery Boise, Idaho 2002
- Hood River County Museum Hood River, Oregon 2001
- Lava Lands National Monument Bend, Oregon 2001
- High Desert Museum Bend, Oregon 1999-2001
- Astoria Maritime Museum Astoria, Oregon 1998
- Douglas County Museum Roseburg, Oregon 1998
- Oregon Historical Society Portland, Oregon 1998
- LaSalle Stuart Center Corvallis, Oregon 1998
- Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts Lake Oswego, Oregon 1998
- 1st Avenue Gallery Portland, Oregon 1997
- Camera Work Gallery Portland, Oregon, 1994
- Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay Oregon 1992
- World Forestry Center Portland, Oregon, 1989-1991
- Museum of Natural History Santa Barbara, California 1986
Selected Group Exhibitions
- Oregon College of Arts and Crafts Portland Oregon, 2003, 2004, 2006
- Sitka Center for the Arts Portland, Oregon 2001, 2002
- Smithsonian Museum of Natural History Washington, D.C. 1991
- Nikon House Gallery; Sierra Centennial New York, New York 1991
- Silver Anniversary: Wilderness Act Portland, Oregon 1989
- Foothills Art Center Golden Colorado, 1988
- Josephus Daniels Gallery Carmel, California, 1988
- Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 1986
- Portland Art Museum; "Artists of Oregon" Portland, Oregon 1977
Selected Publications & Reviews
- "Alaska Airlines & Horizon Air Magazines", inside photographs, In-Flight Magazines, 2006
- "Rogue River Journal", cover, John Daniel, Shoemaker & Hoard, 2005
- "Oregon Wild- Endangered Forest Wilderness", cover & inside photographs, Andy Kerr, ONRC, 2004
- "Open Spaces Magazine", 1997, 1998
- "Oregon's Living Landscape", cover and inside photographs, Defenders of Wildlife Publication, 1998
- "Oregon Rivers", Hardcover, Photographer & Author, Co-Author John Daniel, 1997
- "The Oregonian", book review and photographs, 1997
- "Wilderness Magazine", cover photograph, 1994
- "A View of the River", Luna B. Leopold, 1994, cover photograph, Harvard University Press
- "Wilderness Magazine", inside photograph, 1993
- "Photographer's Forum Magazine", cover and inside photographs, 1993
- "Wilderness Magazine", back cover photograph, 1992
- "Sierra Magazine", inside photograph, 1991
- "Sierra Club Calendar", 1988, 1989
- "Audubon Nature Calendar", 1986, 1987
Selected Films
- "A.M Northwest" artist interview and book review, 1997
- "Northwest Artist Interview" featured artist, Portland, Oregon, 1985
- "KATV Television: Sunday Morning" interview with 5 photographers, Portland, Oregon, 1978
Selected Permanent Collections
- The Campbell Group Portland, Oregon
- Perkins & Company Portland, Oregon
- Kaiser Permanente Portland, Oregon
- Providence & Legacy Emanuel Hospitals Portland, Oregon
- The Nature Conservancy Portland, OR
- Emanuel Hospital Portland, OR
- Good Samaritan Hospital Portland, OR
- Intel Corporation Portland, OR
- Pew Trust Portland, OR
- Shriners' Hospital Portland, OR
- VA Hospitals Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA
- Vesta Corporation Portland, OR
Awards
- Sierra Magazine Photographic Competition First Place - "Oregon White Oaks"
- Photographer's Forum, National Photographic Competition - "Oregon Dunes"
- Photographer's Forum, National Photographic Competition - "Owyhee River"
- Western Visions, National Photographic Competition - "Water Lilies" (Foothills Art Center, Golden, Colorado)