November-December 2024 | Page 23

higher

altitude

deserts

in

Western

Colorado . The colors

at certain times of the

day are

bright with

contrasts of red cliffs

with deep

blue

sky

and

deep

green

bushes . I also think

that Photoshop plays

a part . I like to play

with the functions of

PS

much

the

same

way I loved playing

with those on analog

sound

synthesizers ,

such

as

my

Mini

Moog and my Synthi

A Briefcase .

I

love

turning the knobs and

controls

to

the

extreme ,

then

backing

off

to

something

more

tasteful .

I

do

the

same

in

PS

but

with

elements

of

contrast and color saturation and the

ability to choose my hues .

JM : Your eye sees discrete details that most people would surely miss . You train your close-up lens on patterns and textures that are simply spectacular . Where does this sensitivity come from ?

CHC : As early as the age of 1 4 , I was taking LSD and going to rock concerts with light shows with all sorts of psychedelic visuals . I was also introduced to abstract artists at the University of Utah where I went to school . And then of course running desert rivers turned me on to the bright colors and textures in canyon walls against deep blue skies , as well as sunsets and other bright contrasting colors . My experience running rivers was in a way very spiritual .

JM : You ’ ve mentioned that your photos express your emotionalism . You were in a performance art group in Colorado , and you ’ re an accomplished writer and poet . Your written work is no less emotional than your visual work , and you express these strong emotions with a certain flair - - a certain abandon . Did the river bring out this no-holds barred approach ?

CHC : Not until you mention it here . I think there is some connection . I was very good at reading current so that I could flow with it in order to co-opt its power and momentum . This was important because I was never really very strong physically . A practitioner of jiu-jitsu uses the power and momentum of his opponent against him . I sort of do the same with the river . My life growing up was filled with extreme events that were very emotional .

Somewhere , somehow , I learned how