Landscapes (2001 - present)

These photos are from a process that includes a 4x5 camera, a BetterLight scanning back and quiet contemplation. The images are intended to be viewed as works on paper at 30" x 22" or larger. The smallest images I print are 18" x 13.5". Regardless of size, I hope this presentation of "tiny" images will convey my vision.

Photographs are more than pictures of places or things

To really see a photograph, one will see more than light and object and color. When seeing moves past these things, a photograph speaks and perhaps from this we feel something. This is true with any art form.

I cannot claim these photographs will speak to you or be more than landscape documents. I can say they speak to me and often they transcend their appearance. But I was there, at each of these places. I lingered for hours. I heard the fighter jets pierce the stillness while practicing for war, I smelled the creosote bush after rain and I felt the warmth of desert sand. Often weary from days of travel, from roads so rough it's better to walk, fatigued from carrying water and camera gear, wanting a shower I wonder why, "Why am I so happy to be here?" It is unexplainable the sensation I feel when experiencing this earthen beauty - like a drug ingested through the eyes - it might be an addiction. These photos cannot convey my feelings, my vision entirely. For this is my meaning shaped by who I am and my experience with life. If you find yourself drawn to these photographs think about why and enjoy.

Thank you for viewing,

Joseph Wilhelm