Antelope Canyon

What defines me most as a photographer is my love for simplicity. Subjects reduced to geometric or undulating organic forms, dramatic play of light and shadow, or simple patches of color are the most visually pleasing to me. "Antelope Canyon" is a wonderful example of simplicity in a natural form. I shot this with the Haselblad, 80mm lens, on a tripod. The slot canyons are both beautiful and dangerous for the photographer, as flash floods can descend without warning, making escape impossible. Twelve people drowned here just a few weeks before I took this photograph. Yet, the undulating organic forms of the wind-swept canyon walls, bathed in sunlight, draw photographers from around the world. The values of light range from bright sunlit at the top of the canyon to deep shadow at its sandy floor. Although I shot this with the 35mm Nikon, only the Haselblad was able to hold detail in both shadow and light. A small mound of pertrified bat guano adds a touch of realism to an otherwise abstract work of Natural Art.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Gulliver's Castle - Bryce Canyon (view larger image)

My experiment in Bryce Canyon was to shoot in all three formats, 35mm, medium, and large. I took this shot late in the day, with the sun low on the horizon. I used the 4 x 5 camera with a 135mm Rodenstock lens. This surrealistic landscape of fairy castles and pastel canyons does not demand much of the photographer. The problem is getting there. I packed all three cameras, tripod, film and holders on my back and descended deep into the canyon. The hurried climb back up before darkness falls is the greater challenge. I shot this from a low angle, using another "sand castle" as my frame. The warm pastel pinks and corals against the cerulean blue sky, radiant with the golden glow of the setting sun is a breathtaking sight.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Night Climbers - Zion National Park (view larger image)

This photograph is a great example of "moment" as it presents itself to the photographer. I had been shooting with the Haselblad in Zion most of the day, but found the light conditons frustrating. Blank skies, dark canyons, and a lack of depth and definition to the sunlight that fell on the slopping walls of Zion's great landmarks made for dull subjects. I was driving back through the park in the early evening, as the sun slipped quickly behind the canyon and the stars began to twinkle on the distant horizon. It was so dark, I could barely see, but the headlamps of the climbers scaling the walls of the majestic canyon caught my eye. I set up the Haselblad and shot this with an aperture of f-5.6 at a timed exposure of eight minutes. On the last second of my shot, a car drove up, shining its headlights directly into my lens. I thought I would have nothing, but when I made the print in the lab, the most incredible light quality emerged. Deep warm rose of the canyon wall stood out in full relief against the cool indigo of the early night sky. The rotation of the earth captured the moving stars as they appear in streaks of gold just above the horizon. The long exposure also recorded the intriguing effect of a climber's headlight in a brilliant ribbon of illumination as he repells down the canyon wall.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Lily Pads at Quetico (view larger image)

I shot this photograph while on a canoe and backpacking trip into the waters of Ouetico in Cananda. I had arisen early one morning, hoping to get close enough to photograph a nest of bald eagles high atop a tree on an island across from our camp. It was cool and damp. The early morning mist rose off the warm lake water like translucent ghosts of light. I paddled out to a rock in the middle of the lake, set up the tripod with the Nikon and began shooting the eagles circling above me. I had taken a young boy, named Kevin, with me from our camp. I was teaching him how to use the camera. We looked around us at the eagles, spiders dancing on webs beaded up with morning dew, and the trees as their leaves were turning from the lush green of spring to the red ocher of early autmn. Suddenly, the light changed as the sun came up. I noticed the mist dissolving above these four lily pads. The visual effect is a photograph that lies somewhere between a realistic image and an impressionistic painting.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Clematis (view larger image)

The flowers of Spring have a certain purity of color and form that draw photographers and casual observers alike. The Clematis and the Dogwood are particular favorites of mine. The pure white Clematis, standing out in contrast against leaves of deep, polished green, is a perfect subject for the black and white photographer. The deep shadows and pure white petals of the Clematis, glinting in the noon-day sun bring forth all the zones of the grayscale image in a rich tonal range. The simple purity of this photograph recalls Ansel Adams' dogwoods on textured rock.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Joy (view larger image)

I have included two portratits in my sample of work because I am a portrait photographer as well as a landcape and still-life photographer. I shot this image in available light, coming in from a side window, in a room with white walls. I drapped a silk curtain behind the subjects to bring in more light and used a relfector to the left of the subjects to fill the shadows. I used the Haselblad with 400 speed film, which I had to push two stops to get enough light. I was most interested in the spontaneity and simple joy of these two sisters as they played, giggled, squirmed, and did anything but "sit" for their portrait. Another photographer once told me that I am a missionary in the guise of a photographer/writer because I am able to capture the subject's soul on film. I can't imagine a greater compliment. These two innocent, exuberant little girls were happy to reveal their spirit. I was fortunate enough to record it on film.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Cowboy (view larger image)

This is one of the few portraits I have shot with the large format camera. It presented a number of problems. Shot in available light, at the end of the day with a very slow film (Velvia, ISO 50), it was difficult to illuminate the subject adequately. I shot at f-5.6 at a shutter speed of 1/8 of a second, so the slightest movement out of the focusing plane would have lost the image. I placed the subject on an aluminum boat we found sitting at the water's edge. Sunlight reflecting off the boat and the water, as well as the overhead sun, brought enough light to record the image. The rich complimentary tones of blue, from the cyan cast of the sky, against the deep brown of the cowboy's hat and his bronzed skin create a relaxed but striking image.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Staircase at the MCA (view larger image)

This image is another example of "moment." The staircase at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is the artistic focal point of this modern struture of stone and glass. Looking up into it, the concentric elliptical shapes lead the eye ever upward. I shot this with the 35mm Nikon, hand-held, as part of my exploration of the many textures, forms, and light effects I find compelling at the museum. A woman, dressed in a long black coat, happened to be ascending the staircase when I was ready to shoot. I waited until her hand slid along the railing to the center of the photograhic plane. I came out with this wonderfully geometric, yet fluid image.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Chair's Shadow (view larger image)

I took this photograph at the Musem of Contemporary Art as well, in the outdoor sculpture garden. I find the play of light and shadow, the mix of textures, from rough-hewn stone to polished chrome, and the variety of geometric forms, fascinating. My subject here is not the chair, but the shadow it casts on the granite floor below, forming a circular web in the afternoon sun. I shot this with the "workhorse" of 35mm cameras, the Pentax K1000. When I printed it in the darkroom, the black lines of the fence jumped out in bold, graphic relief. The last "piece of the puzzle" to appear was the brilliant, mirror-like reflection in the arm of the chrome chair. The full tonal range, the variety of textures, and the interlocking geometric forms, create a graphic black and white image.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Red (view larger image)

This simple image shows that it is often the most mundane objects, in the most ordinary surroundings, that make the best pictures. Here the organic forms of red, outlined in streaks of gold, forming deep blue triangles at the picture's edges, convey the profund beauty of color in natural light. I have always loved glass, particularly the beautifully original works of American art glass artisans. I photograph it as often as possible, sometimes indoors against colrful swatches of silk fabric, but often outdoors in natural light. For this image, I placed a frosted glass bottle, filled with red wine vinegar, on a railing of my back porch. Backlit by the full sunlight of midday, it creates a compelling image of color and light.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net

Swirls of Light (view larger image)

This is another piece from my collection of American Art glass. It is a hand-blown, transparent perfume bottle, painted with swirling black lines. I placed a multi-colored silk scarf behind it and photographed it in the light streaming through a stained-glass window in my home. Glass remains one of my favorite photographic subjects becaus it has the paradoxical quality of solidity and transparency. It both captures and filters light. Photography is the art of writng with light. Glass is the magical color of light.

Prints are available in the following sizes and prices:

To order please e-mail me at kperickson@ameritech.net