Eruptions and Patterns


What is the sound of a tree falling in the forest? 

The death throes of the tree, perhaps, followed by an explosion of new life in its shadow.


I am an atheist, and the descendent of Christian missionaries and ministers. I am also a photographer. Everything I see in the natural world reinforces for me Darwin’s truth of evolution and natural selection. Over the last 20 years, the moraines of Southern New England have changed as mosses and lichens take advantage of the increased rainfall that has come with climate change. At the same time, many hardwoods, like white birch and ash, are disappearing, retreating north as they are replaced by other species.


Life flourishes underneath the pine needles in my photo “Portal”; yet that life is very different from what was there before the pine needles fell. I look for evidence of chance, the struggle to survive, and ultimately evolution. It’s impossible to understand evolution without seeing it as an essentially infinite series of small chance occurrences.


We, likewise, have evolved to recognize and appreciate the patterns of the natural world, and to rearrange them in abstract re-constructions. These closely-observed landscapes manifest both the chaos and the miraculous success of natural selection. In turn, death and erosion help to reveal the internal structures. For me, the patterns and abstractions in growth and decay are beautiful, irresistible and thrilling. I approach these scenes with a sense of awe at the struggle to survive and flourish, as well as an intense wonder at the perpetual unfolding of the world.

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Carter Preserve, Charlestown, RI ©2018
Up From the Earth
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Pasquisset Preserve, Charlestown, RI ©2020
Portal
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Carter Preserve, Charlestown, RI ©2019

Split Rock

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Carter Preserve, Charlestown, RI ©2019
Passage
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Moonstone Beach, South Kingstown, RI ©2019
Western Landscape #3
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Carter Preserve, Charlestown, RI ©2019
Still Life II; 2019
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Blue Pond, Hopkinton, RI © 2021
Hidden I; Diptych
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Blue Pond, Hopkinton, RI © 2021
Hidden II; Diptych

Landscape Prints shown at 44x33; Limited Editions of 5; $1200.

Portrait Prints shown at 27x38; Limited Editions of 5; $1000.

Custom RI Elm frames; $300-$400

Other Sizes also available.

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