I'm not much for formal "artist" statements. And if I had to have one it would be that I have no statement. But that is because I prefer the visual to precede the verbal. I believe that good images will always speak for themselves in as much as their appeal will be on different levels for different people. Eliot Porter wrote, "I do not photograph for ulterior purposes. I photograph for the thing itself - for the photograph - without consideration of how it may be used".
The main compositional elements for me in black and white have always been tonal range, textural detail and the quality and direction of lines. But it was only a short while after using the traditional large format methodology that I realized I was photographing 'the light', and not necessarily the subject/object illuminated by the light. That had a subtle yet profound impact.
Trespass is the result of several events; the purely technical challenges of using the figure in the landscape and the emotional impact of the sudden death of a close co-worker. My inability to be able to fully express my grief to my closest friends and family left me lost. 13-87, nude and hollow oak, was the starting flashpoint of a series of images made for four years. I commuted past this massive live oak in the middle of an overgrown lot for years without investigating it. When I saw the side not seen from the road, I felt compelled that if I did not start to use myself as the figure, I never would. I felt very similar to the tree; hollowed out by something greater than myself. It was a visual reminder, at least to myself, of the feelings of isolation and the distances that can exist between people that are intimate. And the more images I made, the more I endeared myself to the process and I no longer wanted to use the female figure. Besides, I was the cheapest, most dependable model I knew and I found myself in some pretty strange places at some pretty strange times.
With respect to color, I still go back to the main compositional elements; tone, texture and line. I also try being as faithful to the intrinsic color of the scene as possible. I almost go back to thinking in b/w, so as not to over-saturate the final image. That said, I find that the digital processes allow for a wider range of expressions of a "visualization" and not just a sterile recording of the natural scene. I see them as tools and methods as a means to an expressive end, whether it is the Zone system for b/w or the highly accurate color reproduction capabilities of the scanning system.
What I am trying to illustrate in the images in the swamps is the softer light of winter. With less of a canopy above in the trees, more light now reaches the still water and creates the dynamic, complex patterns of shadow and reflection. Also the light gets reflected off the 'unseen' surfaces of the trees or water and can illuminate the objects behind them, creating a bit of mystery as to the source of the light.