In 2020, photography took a back seat to staying home and staying healthy in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite the disruptions and disappointments, I was able to find ten images to share as mileposts along my photographic journey through this strange year.
During 2020 I spent time at home working on black and white photography, both refining my vision for black and white images and developing the digital darkroom skills to realize that vision. Eight of the ten images in this collection reflect that work.
1. Wrinkles in Time
I love photographing reflections, taking advantage of the natural abstraction that they create to see things in new ways. This photograph, taken in June during a brief Covid jailbreak (socially-distanced, self-contained camping) in Lassen National Park never quite made the cut in color, but conversion to black and white finally allowed the abstract patterns of reflected trees and rippling water to break through. Sometimes I shoot intentionally with black and white in mind but other times, like this, I need to allow color to frustrate me in order to take the image where it needs to go.
2. Forager
Restrictions on travel kept us close to home most of the year. This photograph of a foraging bee was taken in a field of mixed wildflowers, part of the landscaping in a neighborhood near us. Instead of a macro lens, I used a 70-300mm telephoto lens with a close-up “filter” (an additional optical element mounted on the front of the lens). This is my favorite of the many shots from that morning.
3. All That Remains
in September we drove up to Hope Valley in the Sierra Nevada mountains, looking for some high elevation fall color. We were too early for much color, but this weathered stump caught my eye. It was a natural subject for a high contrast black and white photograph.
4. Red Creek Cabin
Who says you have to photograph fall color in color? We returned to Hope Valley a few weeks later, and there was plenty of color on view. However this photograph, taken with my infrared (IR)-converted camera, is my favorite from that day. Infrared light created unusual and unexpected contrasts in the foliage and highlighted the structure of the thin, high clouds that we often see in the mountains.
5. Zabriskie Dawn
In November we escaped once again for a week of camping and photography in Death Valley National Park and the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, CA. On this morning we arrived at Death Valley’s Zabriskie Point well before sunrise, so I decided to try some IR shots in the dawn light. I could tell from the monochrome conversions on the back of the camera that these might be interesting, and I wasn’t disappointed.
6. Footprints in the Sand
“You can’t always get what you want.” (Mick Jagger)
While we were in Death Valley we made the pilgrimage to Mesquite Dunes, the best-known and most accessible dune field in the park. My brain was full of visions of photographing pristine dunescapes in dramatic sunrise light. Arriving in the dark, we slogged about 2 miles away from the road through soft sand. We had the magnificent dunes all to ourselves, but unfortunately we couldn't escape the footprints of previous visitors. “Pristine” was not going to happen.
This photograph, taken just at sunrise, is my sole keeper from that morning. I cleaned up the foreground a bit but otherwise left intact the traces of previous dune-walkers. It's not the photograph I envisioned, but I like it all the same.
7. Sierra Storm
On the way home from Death Valley we stopped for a few days in Lone Pine, CA to photograph the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains from the Alabama Hills. A snowstorm rolled across the Sierra crest while we were there, providing dramatic conditions for photography. This photograph shows Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48, peeking through the storm clouds.
8. Möbius Was Here
The Möbius Arch is a well-known feature among the otherworldly rock formations in the Alabama Hills. The most common photographic compositions use the arch as a frame for the distant Sierra Nevada mountains or as a light-painted foreground in a night sky image. On this gray day, neither of these options was available. Instead, I decided to photograph it as if it were a piece of abstract modern sculpture.
9. Storm Light
Same storm, different mountain. Light breaking through the storm clouds over the Sierra crest created this majestic and mysterious view of Lone Pine Peak. This is not only my favorite photograph from the entire Death Valley/Alabama Hills trip but also my favorite photograph of 2020.
10. A Good Day to Stay Inside
It doesn't rain much here in the High Desert, but occasionally we get a good one. This abstract view of a tree across our backyard, taken through a rain-streaked window during one of those rare downpours, demanded to be photographed. It was indeed a good day to stay inside.