I live in a very rare environment called the Dry Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem of British Columbia, Canada. It is ensconced in the middle of the Pacific Northwest Coast rainforest and covers a very small area along the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The vegetation here is different from the rest of the Pacific Northwest in a lot of ways, and one of its most interesting aspects from a photographic point of view is the ubiquitous lichens attached to every tree and branch. These range in size from the minuscule saucer lichens which look like fungus growing on alder bark, to huge swaths of old man’s beard draped over branches in lacy abundance. In between are lichens of all kinds, fanciful shapes and subtle colours providing endless fascination for a mesmerized fine art photographer.

There are other sources of photo stimulation here as well, including the bark of birches found ipn the streets of Victoria and the interior textures of birch and cedar bark. Montaged, they can be manipulated into nearly infinite combinations of colour, texture, and composition to delight the eye and challenge the mind. That is what I have attempted in this portfolio.

Artist Statement:

Natural Attachments