California Wetlands
I began photographing California wetlands around 2014. Wetlands are typically home to many bird species and indigenous plant life, considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems; wetlands act as a natural water purification and storage system for our coastlines.
After spending a number of years photographing and documenting the LA river, I was looking for new places to explore and photograph. The wetlands I visited, mostly around LA and up the coast, were to me like a window into the past, a snapshot (or as close as we could come) of what the entire area may have once looked like before humans came in and dredged, developed, and destroyed them. For instance The Ballona Wetlands were at one time part of 14,000 acres of wetlands and watershed here in Los Angeles, but is now a barely 600-acre protected site still fending off developers and “improvements.”
I found these peaceful oases to be particularly good places to spend my time during Covid and that's when I really began photographing them in earnest.
"Life is in color, but black and white is more realistic," (said by director Samuel Fuller) is one of my favorite quotes, and it was with that in mind that I recently began to showcase these works as B&W photos with a square format, that to me evokes the idea of seeing things through a window.
I feel these photos portray the birds, plants, and waters in a way that truly captures how I felt when I was there amidst nature and fauna. There was both a sadness and joy in that experience, and I hope these images convey some of that, or at least prompt you to visit these wetlands and have your own experience.
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Custom prints are available, use the Order a Print button below. You can read more about my print process here.
