Bayscapes

Visible from our home in the hills above Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Bay coastline reveals an otherworldly mosaic—a fractured geometry of reds, oranges and even magenta. This is the unintended art of 150 years of industrial salt mining, where tidal marshlands were transformed into vast, technicolor evaporation ponds to extract the salt for the burgeoning needs of our kitchens, dining tables and icy roads. Bayscapes documents this surreal, alien landscape precisely as the "tide" turns. Among the evaporation ponds lie signs of a fading, feeble industry: teetering, wooden sluice gates; rusting rail structures once used to move salt from west to east; and heavy vehicles still pushing white, saline mounds toward the horizon. Yet, the images capture more than yesterday’s industry. Returning shorebirds hovering over the foundations of an old bridge are but one of the subtle signs of ecological reclamation in a community driven nascent restoration project. During this pivot from industrial exploitation to environmental rejuvenation, we intend that the raw, untainted colorations in these images will inspire stronger support for restoring what was lost, and fostering a newly vibrant era for the San Francisco Bay.