Snow
The magic of snow falling and the earth turning pure white cleans the earth's skin from all the dirt and bare trees of winter. The silence it creates is deafening until the winds begin to churn the snow's soft texture into a white-out blizzard. I love the way it takes all the rough edges out of the craggy cliffs and transitions them to a smooth ice cream like surfaces. The river rocks look like moguls and the back-lighted drifts appear to be the veins of a living being. Maybe it’s the sub zero temperatures or all the drugs I took back in the 60’s…..but the hallucinations that take place after an hour of trudging a couple of miles in three feet of snow are powerful.
This project is just a sampling of the 100-plus page book I produced titled “SNOW”. For two years I would wait patiently in my 1892 stone house in Fort Collins, Colorado hoping to hear the words broadcasted over the radio, “All highways in the region have been closed due to blizzard conditions making driving impossible. The highway patrol requests you stay off the roads except for emergency situations”. This was my key to take off into Northern Colorado, Southern Wyoming and Western Nebraska on back roads where no sane person dares to drive.
I didn’t and don’t go off unprepared. My trusty fifteen-year-old Landcruiser named “The Wildabeast” is always checked over like a pilot checks his plane before taking off. I carry three days of water and food, a winch for pulling myself out of snow banks, flares to fire off at night if in trouble, two space blankets, a pick, two shovels of different sizes and of course a 38-special. I have been in a staring contest with a large mother brown bear and the bear spray didn’t really seem adequate at the time…..thus the pistol.
The exhilaration of facing nature’s incredible forces in solo is a soul-searching experience. I never turn on a radio or music and my cell phone has no reception so it’s just the sound of the wind blowing the snow. Try it out. It will open your mind.
The photographs shown in this project are printed on a premium fine art archival paper, on metal using a dye-sublimation process, or as a metallic print that is face mounted to acrylic..
We can sell to you directly or aim you to one of the galleries representing this work if you reside in their region.