American Landscape By William Neill

The reason I photograph is to experience the beauty Nature, wild places. I explore the essential elements rock and tree, cloud and rushing water to discover the magic and mystery the landscape. My search for beauty is romantic and idealistic. It is the spirit the land I seek-be it in a small piece urban wildness or in vast wilderness. Rachel Carson, in her book The Sense Wonder, writes, "Those who contemplate the beauty the earth find reserves strength that will endure as long as life lasts."
"Photography is a quiet, intensely meditative activity for me. Minor White, the Zen-influenced photographer, stated, "Be still with yourself, until the object your attention affirms your presence." When the light and the subject inspire me, I am compelled to compose an image. The images that I enjoy making the most are those that rely on emotional response and perception rather than the spectacle the scene. I enjoy isolating the details a scene, ten to the point abstraction. By creating photographs where the content or orientation is not obvious, an intimate and enigmatic feeling can come through. I would rather make an image that asks a question than answers one, one that intrigues and arouses curiosity in the viewer.