23-APR-2011
Rust, Cordes Junction, Arizona, 2011
I usually prefer to photograph textures in either the early morning or late afternoon, when the low angle of the sun throws height variations into sharp relief. However, I made this image after the “good” light vanished, and the sun was already high in the sky. The high angle of the sun makes the old GMC logo on a rusting truck radiator stand out, as well as creating a sundial out of the shadow of the drainage valve below.
23-DEC-2010
Sand sculpture, Recife, Brazil, 2010
I zoomed in to make a close up shot of the head and shoulders of this sand figure featured in a nativity scene on one of Recife’s public beaches, emphasizing the tactile nature of its texture. The only parts of the sculpture that are not made of sand are the innocently primitive and incongruous eyes, which are made of glass or plastic. The sculpture expresses its idea through not only form but through surface texture. Even though the light itself may be flat here, the power of that texture beckons the hand of the viewer.
03-JUN-2010
Santa Fe style, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2010
Early morning light shapes the contours and textured surfaces of Santa Fe’s distinctive architecture. I exposed on the brilliantly illuminated adobe walls with my spot meter, allowing the surrounding shadowed areas to recede into darkness.
07-JUN-2010
Locomotive tender, Durango, Colorado, 2010
Photographing through an open window of a railroad locomotive barn, I caught the textures of the surface of this antique tender in the evening light. Its metal plates come at us out of the shadows, looking every bit as old as they are.
13-NOV-2009
The Devil’s Garden, Arches National Park, Utah, 2009
I made this image within a small canyon at the intersection of two passageways. A dead tree sits at the spot where these passageways meet. Soaring over the tree is a spectacularly textured triangular rock wall, which I use to fill much of the frame. It was a cloudy day, which created a soft light that seemed to give the textured rock before us even more dimensionality and presence, as well as richly saturated color. The longer I studied this texture, the more I saw. There is an astounding head and shoulder profile of a bearded man emerging from the rock in the middle of the upper half of the image. Even the texture of the boulder in the lower right hand corner of the frame has a role to play here – it gives the large rock context in scale, and draws the eye towards the passageway that extends to the right just behind it.
15-OCT-2009
Roman sarcophagus, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009
The Romans named Istanbul Byzantium in 64AD, and this tomb dates back to the Byzantine era. It stands just outside Istanbul’s massive archeological museum, seemingly forgotten, its marble surface pitted by the elements. This texture creates a palpable reference to the passage of time – more than 2,000 years of it. The figures in togas stare out at us as time ravages their home – a huge crack in the top reminds us that Rome, as well as the many Byzantine and Ottoman regimes that followed, eventually vanished. Even the dead leaves that litter foreground echo the relentless cycling of time.
03-OCT-2009
Contrast, Downtown Vancouver, Canada, 2009
I contrast the textures here of a gleaming contemporary aluminum clad skyscraper and a deeply shadowed 19th century Vancouver office building. Two primary colors are at work – the blue tinted windows of the contemporary building and the red stone facing on the vintage structure. The early morning light brushes the windows of the old building, adding still another texture to the mix. I exposed for the new building, allowing the older building to gradually fade into the shadows of time.
22-JUL-2009
The Choate Bridge, Ipswich, Massachusetts, 2009
The Choate Bridge has spanned the Ipswich River since 1764. It said to be the oldest stone arched bridge in the United States. In this image, I exclude most of the bridge, keeping only the edge of one of its two arches in my frame. This forces the eye down into the waters that surge below the bridge. The play of light and shadow on this water reveals four distinct textures: a stippled foreground, a seemingly calmer patch directly below the bridge, a curving segment of water that appears to be folding in upon itself, and the massively tranquil area of greenish water in the background. Textures will change in appearance as the effect of light itself changes.
25-JUN-2009
Ancient figures, Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 2009
I found these ancient carvings layered within a window of the museum. They have been carved from trees by Indians, and each of the three figures shows its textures differently. The carving closest to the window is the brightest, and reveals the powerfully primitive pattern of its art in a brilliantly detailed manner. As the light falls off within the window, the textures become darker. The figure at left seems a bit more sophisticated in its textural presence, while the exaggerated face in the deep background turns soft and somewhat more remote. Yet it is that final softly focused face that gives this image its ultimate meaning.
17-JUN-2009
Redwood forest, Klamath, California, 2009
The massed ferns surrounding a young redwood tree create a study in texture. The dappled light deep in the forest plays on some of the ferns and leaves the others in shadow. The result – a comparative array of leafy textures and colors defining the density of growth, and the seemingly chaotic world of nature itself.
22-JUN-2009
Gun emplacements, Fort Canby, Ilwaco, Washington, 2009
The ruins of Fort Canby go back to the Civil War. However this particular gun emplacement dates to World War II. The fort was built to protect the mouth of the Columbia River from potential invaders. Today its concrete bunkers speak of the passage of time itself.
15-APR-2009
Door to nowhere, Kingman, Arizona, 2009
The early morning light brings out the ragged texture beneath the white and yellow paint that covers this sealed storefront. It has two doors. One is sealed as tightly as the large windows that once looked out onto the street. It's surface is scuffed -- somebody has probably tried to kick it open. The other portal has no door at all -- the opening reveals an exterior space within, featuring an abrasively textured wall. I found a fascinating incongruity here -- the warmly sunlit building, painted in pleasant colors, seems at first glance to be nostalgic and benign, yet the rough wall standing within, along with the scuffed, sealed door and the blocked windows up front, speak of harsh and unforgiving realities.
