' SWEEPING THE SKY '

Santiam Pass
Oregon

Edition Size: 45
Sizes:
16" X 20"
/
24" X 30"
/
30" x  40"
/
40"  x 50"
Prices:
$600
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$1025
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$1425
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$2575





'Water and sky meet as leaves and grasses float suspended on reflection'


ne of my favorite parts of the journey between my home in Bend and the Willamette Valley, is a beautiful marsh area just east of the Santiam Pass summit. I have always been intrigued by the way the aquatic plants there turn marvelous shades of red, brown and burgundy in the fall.

I’d wanted to photograph a scene like this for a long time. However, my timing was never quite right to capture the color when it was peaked, the right lighting on the pond, and enough water in the area all at the same time.

One day in October of 1994 while returning to Bend, I observed all the conditions in place, except it was too sunny. So the next cloudy day, I returned to the pond. I strapped on my hip boots, one of my most valuable photographic tools, and worked my way through the unstable footing at the marsh edge. After about an hour I spotted a potential composition that unbeknownst to me would require full immersion. I very carefully waded toward the image. With each step I sank deeper into the thick debris layering the bottom. A couple of times I had to stop for fear of going over the top of my boots.

When I reached the leaves of my intention, I worked with my tripod as it continued to sink deeper into the soft bottom. After fine tuning the image composition, my camera sat only a foot above the water surface. While making these adjustments, I finally reached my critical limit of movement. At this point ice cold water rushed in over the tops of my boots. Talk about a wake up call! After recomposing myself, I was able to create ‘Sweeping the Sky.’

I chose ‘Sweeping the Sky’ as the title because of the way the leaves and grasses sweep across the unseen blue sky that is reflected in the upper portion of the image. It felt right.


 

LARGE VIEW OF ' SWEEPING THE SKY '
(Worth the wait!)

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