Photo: George Beasly

Suburban Wild These photographs are a kind of emotional self-portrait. They are a learning experience captured on film. My subject matter is primarily weeds, those plants I used to do battle with. They were like other things I had become so familiar with, that I could no longer see them. But weeds are like many of us – tenacious and beautiful, yet maligned, misunderstood and feared, because we grow freely in a world which seeks to control and define our nature. When I began to photograph them, I began to finally see them, and when I saw them, I began to feel their mystery and hear their wild voices. I don’t just drive or walk through my neighborhood like I used to. I experience it. The somber overcast light of the Pacific Northwest reveals a dichotomy of emotions. Even the flowers seem to be smiling through tears. What is joyous, is the healing these plants bring to the land. Even pavement is no obstacle. That is the spirit of mother earth. Always forgiving, and always ready to heal. It is also our true nature. Choosing which spot to shoot is a little like looking for the most sincere pumpkin patch; it’s intangible, but I know it when I see it. I am always taken by the delicate complexity and variety of nature found in just a few square feet of ground. No matter the season, it is as awe inspiring to me as the Grand Canyon, just on a smaller scale. The Tao of Small Things A single flower exists for just a moment. The mystery behind its creation is timeless. A rock seems like a permanent structure. But isn’t every grain of sand a former rock? As humans, we are slaves to our point of reference. Our size and perception of time creates a veil of relativity through which we perceive our world. In my photographs I open the veil just a little bit and reveal a small world full of natural wonders, just as impressive as the Tetons, but usually beyond our realm of perception. The subjects I choose to shoot have a majestic presence all their own. What grabs my attention is a kind of monumentality, which I enhance by printing very large, and in sharp focus. Ironically, the realistic representation I strive for is what gives the images their alternate viewpoint; a reality beyond our normal perception. I place these objects on a black background to emphasize their removal from the natural process which created them. They float in space, as a collection of matter held together for not much longer than it takes to take their picture. When I’m done exploring what they have to offer, I reintroduce them to their natural habitat. For some it’s as easy as setting on the compost heap. Other things like shells and rocks I replace with a little more reverence, but each time, I feel grateful to nature for sharing some of her more mysterious creations with me.