J
im’s professional responsibilities as a
semi-retired professor of Communication
Studies and English for the California State
University system, and his previous work as a
daily newspaper reporter, are evident in his fine art
photography. He is an extraordinary storyteller.
he believes are some of the finest digital cameras in
their class.
Jim was the Preserve’s Artist in Residence in 2009
and his work is now included in the permanent
collection established by the Mojave National
Preserve Artists Foundation. Jim
with Desert Light about his
“I had to be very spoke
experiences as a Mojave National
Preserve Artist in Residence.
prepared, very
Although the desert will always
hold the largest piece of his heart,
Jim’s interests and techniques have
been varied and vast. He has
traveled extensively throughout the observant, and a
“I had an original theme, but
landscape of the western United little bit lucky.”
it changed once I got started
States using Leicas, Hasselbalds
shooting,” Jim chuckles. Having
(film and digital), a Miyama 7 medium format lived within five miles of the west entrance to Joshua
camera and many of the Canon cameras made Tree National Park since 1999 (“we wanted to live
sine the 1970’s. Admitting he came to digital in a place that was affordable AND beautiful”), Jim
photography reluctantly, he now shoots exclusively already had more than a passing familiarity with
with the Fujifilm X series digital cameras, which the Mojave National Preserve. But, in a landscape
that, at the time, encompassed more than
1.5 million acres and showcases billions of
years of geologic transformation, there are
always surprises.
Jim advises visitors and potential Artist in
Residence applicants that the Preserve is
most fully enjoyed if you are prepared for
change; change in the landscape, change in
the weather, change in your perceptions.
“There are, of course, the landmarks,” Jim
notes, “…the Cinder Cones, the Sand
Dunes, the historic Kelso Depot, the
largest Joshua Tree forest in the world. But
you can still find something unique and
something no one else has captured. There
is enough room for everyone to make art in
the Mojave.”
Jim spent approximately three weeks of up
to 14-hour days, during the winter months,
shooting the images that would eventually
make their way into his exhibit. Living in
Joshua Tree made it relatively easy for him
to get to the Preserve. He’d leave well before
dawn and get to the Sand Dunes or other
location before sunrise. “I usually worked
like a sports photographer, racing about
amongst the landscape looking for the spot
Kelso Dunes
6
THE DESERT LIGHT
|
Centennial Edition