Photon, Matter, Void

My new work reveals the sun’s surface in vivid detail, as viewed through Earth’s varied atmospheric states. Dramatic landscape elements anchor the experience to challenge our perceptions of reality and our place within an infinite void. The process is complex and often requires the use of three telescopes equipped with infrared cameras and a monochrome video camera with scientific filters. This equipment is often backpacked in the Sierras to capture Sun/Earth interactions that occur only a few moments per year. I study the fall of the sun’s photons on Earth, noting how they concentrate at the solar surface, then incrementally dispersing away from the solar disk. I am keen to explore photon interactions on Earth with subjects in close proximity to the sun’s light fall. After my father’s death in 2015 and a near death experience of my own a few months later, I made the decision to creatively explore the emotional state I felt eye to eye with whales, but through other subjects. It allowed me experience a deeper connection to the cosmos, and finding greater peace of mind. Through this practice, I’ve come to appreciate that the separateness we feel from each other, from nature, and the universe, is an illusion. Closer to home, this awareness has challenged me to explore ways to challenge the divisions we create between subjects found in nature and contemporary photography.