Recenlty one of my most popular prints has been this image of the Great Buddha in Kamakura.  This image is a good example of "less is more".  I think this image is powerful because it is only one part of this famous Buddha statue.  Because the you cannot see the whole, you are free to imagine what the whole looks like.  Focusing in on one part of the face allows one to see the Buddhist philosophy which has been captured in the expression of the eyes by the artist.  One can almost feel the calmness and tranquility which are made possible by meditating Buddhist monks.

 

I was also drawn to the rich color of the patina of this statue.  This monochrome image allows one to see the many different subtle shades of blue-green which make up the whole.   The color is also a result of the interesting history of this artwork.  The Great Buddha was fabricated more than 700 years ago and was originally housed inside a massive wooden temple.  More than 500 years ago the temple building was washed away by a huge tsunami.  This wonderful patina is a result of the bronze statue being exposed to the elements for more than five centuries.

 

Whenever I am composing my photographs, I always ask myself what is essential to include in the image to convey the story I want to tell.  Then I try to pare down the composition to only the essentials.  Including any non-essential elements can be very distracting.  Focusing only on the essentials creates a much more powerful image.

 

 

 

Several months ago I got the good news that Microsoft purchased this image as wallpaper for Windows 7.  Their contract required me to keep quiet about this until Windows 7 was launched.  That is why I waited until today to make this announcement.

 

Of course Microsoft did not advise me why they decided to use this particular image, but I have my ideas.  I am always searching for interesting monochrome images.  A monochrome image is similar to black and white in that lack of any color contrasts allows the eye to focus on the composition, lines and form of the image.  It also allows one to see very subtle differeces in tone.  In addition, this image is green which is currently in fashion because it is eco-friendly.  Also I think this image is a good background because it does not compete with any other imgaes that might be open at the same time.

 

This is a photo of corn lily or false hellebore taken at Mt. Rainier NP.  This image was taken early in the season soon after the leaves came out.  When taking close ups of plantlife, I think it is important to find a perfect specimen.  It is always easier to find those perfect leaves with no holes or damage early in the season.  This particular year the snows were very heavy and the abundance of snowmelt resulted in extremely lush vegetation.

 

Last night a friend of mine bought a print of this image, "Snow Monkey Madonna" and she was kind enough to tell me why she decided to purchase it.  The reason she decided to buy it is because her nephew is going to have a baby and she felt the emotion in this image of the Monkey mother for her baby.  She thought this would be the perfect gift for the mother to be.  It just so happens that her relatives live in Japan which was another reason for her to choose this image as a gift.

 

Capturing emotion can be elusive and I am not sure how best to do it.  But I think we all know emotion when we see it.  So I try to think about emotion when I am photographing and do everything I can to capture it.  When I am lucky enough to capture it, I always choose an image with emotion over one without.

 

Whenever I travel to shoot photography I always strive to create images which capture the essence of the place I am visiting.  In February this year, I spent 3 days at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.   I was immediately struck by the pure white color of the sand and the deep blue color of the sky.  I decided to create an image which isolated this pure white color combined with the deep blue sky.

White Sands is a desert basin surrounded by mountains with no natural outlet for water to flow to the sea.  When it rains the water flows into a large lake which slowly evaporates over the dry season.  This evaporation creates clear gypsum crystals on the desert floor.  The wind breaks these clear gypsum crystals into tiny particles of sand which due to abrasion become scratched on the surface and turn into pure white sand.  The dry climate in this sparsely populated high altitude desert is also the optimum environment to create the bluest skies I have ever seen.  I was captivated by the contrast between the pure white sand and the cobalt blue sky.

One morning I set out to capture this combination of pure white and cobalt blue.  I left early in the morning so that the dunes would still be untrampled by any hikers’ footprints.  After I found the perfect dune, I added a poloarising lens to intensify the dark blue of the sky and started shooting.  The first shots I took were very wide and did not have the punch I was looking for.  As I gradually moved closer and closer to the base of the dune photographing, the lines sculpted into the sand by the wind overnight slowly became stronger and stronger.  Of all the images I shot that day, this is one I liked the best.

I lived in Japan for over 15 years and while there I was deeply influenced by Japanese culture.  Traditional Japanese architecture is very sparse and emphasizes simple lines.  Even when I am creating images of nature, I think my eye is influenced by this Japanese esthetic tradition.  You can see “White Sand Dune” in my new portfolio of images at Parklane Gallery entitled “Colors of Nature”.