The Sierra is a land of quiet violence. One moment, you may be staring in wonder at a thousand foot high granite dome created from a cataclysmic intrusion of molten lave thousands of years ago. And the next moment you stare in disbelief at huge faces of hard rock twisted and folded like paper, the result of unimaginable forces focused with unimaginable patience.

Here I find the stark contrasts that lend themselves to dramatic photographic compositions and a kind of fine art that brings the power and beauty of the outdoors into your home and office.

Here you might find a granite erratic that cracked and then was moved apart by ice over hundreds of years until the two halves sit many feet apart but still in position to fit together perfectly. Or you may find a granite erratic sitting alone on the face of a glacially polished granite shelf with a delicate fern growing from a crack in the rock in defiance of the surrounding barrenness.

The Sierra is a place where powerful contrasts can create natural compositions that intrigue the eye. At times things come together and share a present moment that rises above the norm. At times a natural composition may speak deeply to us because it awakens a connection to our past.. A lone rock on a bright red streambed, a golden rock in a waterless black stream, or a substanceless yet beautiful shadow flowing over a rock forming a special vision of the power of abstraction fused with the grit of moleculer substance, may remind us of the deep, inticing mysteries of the universe we live in.