About The Artist

My love of photography started at an early age.  I remember carefully holding my brothers camera, and the fascination of looking through the tiny square window.  I have never lost the wonder of viewing sections of my world through the viewfinder.

I live the small western town of Winthrop, Washington, located in the Methow Valley on the east slope of the North Cascades, in the shadow of the wet northwest.  The landscape of mountains, alpine meadows, forest, high desert, winding rivers, flora and fauna, fits nicely with my past life in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. 

I was once told during a photography class to “focus on one aspect and subject in photography”—my one aspect is nature, but subjects vary with my mood or mode of transportation. Hiking, backpacking, or skiing the North Cascades I carry a small digital camera, grabbing the vistas, flowers, wildlife, and light that stop me in my tracks.  When doing my best work, I travel to areas previously scouted, past-by or imagined, from hikes, trips or seasons, finding the right light and composition.

Photography really took a leap when I attended the Ansel Adams Workshop at Yosemite in 1987. After that intense experience, more classes in theory and darkroom techniques followed. I went from 35mm snapshots to hand-colored black and white prints from medium and large format negatives. The subtleties and surrealism of the soft painted colors worked with the color palette of Colorado. It did not translate when we moved to the Northwest. The colors are too saturated, a change was in order. I now work mostly with color in the digital format, processing photos on the computer; making tonal adjustments and layering, but rarely adding or subtracting from the original.

I self-published a journal of bird photographs in 2004, Visitors & Natives: A Seasonal Observation. It was available locally and is currently sold out.

May 2007, I was the Artist-In-Residence for the North Cascade National Park in Stehekin.  It was a wonderful gift of time to be able to spend a month photographing and journaling in the beautiful and secluded Stehekin Valley.

My photographs are for sale in several local galleries, or by contacting me from my web site.  I hope you enjoy the photographs, I have a great time taking them and would love to hear your comments.

Never loose the wonder…  Sally