Remember the Shade

Remember the Shade

I first found this place while scouting several months ago. The relationship between the old tree and Estrella Mountain stayed with me, so I returned on a Sunday morning with my 4×5 camera and photographed as the first light reached the tree.

This image feels more organic than many of my other photographs in "Finding Estrella". The tree and mountain carry the composition, while the architecture remains secondary. Development is present, but it reveals itself gradually.

The photograph was inspired in part by Robert Adams and his ability to hold beauty and human alteration within the same landscape. At this hour, there is no shade beneath the tree. The title refers to something remembered rather than seen, and perhaps to something that may not remain.

"Remember the Shade"
From "Finding Estrella"

Chamonix 4×5 with 6×12 film back
Kodak Portra 160 developed in ECN-2