Pacific Northwest Roadtrip
Summer 2026
Native Flora Images
An Introduction To My Work
Western Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), Devils Club (Oplopanax horridus)
Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum), False Hellebore (Veratum viride)
Often I struggle with sharing my travel photos. My first inclination is to create a travelogue, a brief overview of places and events. But, when I am out shooting I am drawn more to small interesting details, than to the broader landscapes and cityscapes that most people capture. I like doors and windows. Various textures of walls. Graffiti. Ordinary people. Houses. Seaweed on the sand. Driftwood. Tree bark with various textures. Closeups of plants and flowers. I am interested in texture, color, and patterns, as well as small ordinary things that bring added clarity, understanding, and connection to a place. I seek to go below the surface and superficial, and to understand a place's uniqueness and commonalities with similar places. I shy away from taking shots that have been taken untold times, and when I do I often try to find a different way to see a place. Of course, there are times when a setting is so inviting that a traditional wide-view is enticing. These photos often provide a useful context for the broader collection of images.
Western Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum), Thimbleberry (Rubus pariflores)
A recent road trip from Santa Cruz County, California, where I live, up to British Columbia, Canada ended up being primarily focused photographically on close ups of native flora. Most of these were done on my iPhone 15 Pro Max using the app Hipstamatic. I will share more about this app and a workshop I attended with Scott Strazzante of the San Francisco Chronicle. Furthermore, I chose to make this a study in black and white often using very high contrast. Working without color can produce a viewer experience very different from color. This minimalist format focuses the attention on the basic structures, shapes, and patterns. Things that are often overshadowed by color. The emotional reaction to this kind of image, it seems to me, can speak more to the intellect than the heart. Still, the impact can be quite strong. The beauty undeniable.
Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) with Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
