Calm Photos

This is one of my all-time favorite black and white photographs, taken while I was living and working in Utah. This image was captured in August 1999 near Cedar City. I was working as an account representative for a company that provided employee assistance programs. Part of my job was traveling to client companies to conduct on-site training programs that came with their EAP’s. Needless to say I took advantage of the opportunity to practice my passion for nature and landscape photography, and with Southern Utah, it is hard to resist.

This fence was part of an old cattle ranch. I discovered it just outside of Cedar City, where I was doing a training program at a local dynamite/explosives factory. That would explain why it was out in the middle of nowhere. But it’s these little hidden gems, combined with a classic western sky, that make for some wonderful and original images.
This image was shot using a Canon Elan IIe EOS 35mm film camera with a Vivitar 24mm lens. I shot it on Kodak T-Max black and white film, and if memory serves me correctly, I was also using a red filter.

On the other side of Cedar City (a great little college town by the way) is Cedar Breaks National Monument, an incredibly picturesque high altitude canyon that is much like Bryce National Park but without the crowds.

One of the many things I miss about Utah are those expansive, expressive western skies. There’s a unique light in the high deserts and canyonlands of the four corners region, and it’s easy to understand why this area is so much loved by artists representing many mediums.