About the Artist
I believe in the transformative power of nature. As Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walking,
"[I]n Wildness is the preservation of the world. Every tree sends its fibres forth in search of the Wild. The cities import it at any price. Men plow and sail for it. From the forest and wilderness come the tonics and barks which brace mankind...Why do the vast snow plains give us pleasure, the twilight of the bent and half-buried woods?...[The Wild] is there with its beauty, its music, its perfume, its sweetness, to exhilarate and recreate us..."
I have had the opportunity and privilege to spend parts of my life in that Wild to which Thoreau refers. I have both felt firsthand and seen in my companions the power of an unexpected view across a valley from a high trail, of a pastel sunrise on an open plain illuminating an age-old rockfall, and of a thundering waterfall obliterating thoughts of the developed world. I have seen the pleasure in young travelers and in those more experienced; the Wild speaks to us all. And I have observed the cumulative effects of the Wild, as folk from the city and suburb are lightened and enlightened by their time in nature.
Photography has the astounding ability to bring the Wild into our lives when we cannot otherwise travel to or connect with the freedom of nature. My goal in my landscape photography (and by extension this Web site) is to touch viewers with the power, the wonder, and the beauty of the natural world. My hope is to give them - through a large-format image hanging on the wall of their house, apartment, or office - an escape into the Wild.
I started taking photos in High School; most were quite bad. On one trip, I took 12 rolls of slides and all but 9 images were overexposed - I blamed it entirely on the camera...
I majored in theatre in college, working mostly on the technical side - scenic design, stage lighting, costume design - and directing. Photography was mostly a means of preserving our finished work on the stage.
My wife and I went through a period after college of experimenting with doing our own black and white developing and printing/enlarging - traditional chemical darkroom stuff, with all the attendant issues. The cost and the finicky nature of the darkroom made that a difficult hobby to embrace for very long.
I drifted into shooting video (VHS, 8mm, Digital 8...) while my wife kept on shooting film (35 mm and later medium format.) Then came digital still cameras. I purchased my first digicam in 1999 (a 3-megapixel Canon) and haven't looked back since. I went through a series of sequentially improving cameras over the next three years (thanks to a very cooperative local retail chain) and then moved up to my first digital SRL, a Canon 10D. That camera changed everything.
For the first time, I could see that digital imaging could take me into the world I had wanted all along: high quality images with control of the shooting process plus control over the printing process, without chemicals, stopwatches, thermometers, and safe lights! While that camera has been replaced with my 1Ds (and I've started shopping for its replacement), it set the stage for my development as a serious photographer. With the limitations of film removed, I was free to experiment and grow in my technical skills and artistic vision.
I've spent the last five years immersing myself in the esthetic and practical aspects of digital landscape photography, learning to see with greater perception, to develop a personal style, and to print large-scale images that accurately and artistically reflect the beauty I have seen in the natural world. It's been a challenging and rewarding process; I've been able to see inspiring sights and press myself to bring back the essence of those sights. There have been times I've wondered if I should have gone quite so far in seeking that perfect shot, but so far my adventures in the field have not resulted in any lasting physical damage (but I'll compare blisters and scrapes with anyone!)
This site is the culmination of those years of development. My intention now is to share the wonder and power of the places I have been and continue to go with a wider audience, and to bring a bit of the Wild into their lives.
In case I've left some doubt, I truly love the process of finding, recording, and sharing the wonder of the Wild. I hope my work touches you, and brings you even a small bit of the joy I feel in creating it.
-- Chris Sandberg