The Sky Above is a new website collection of photographs I’ve made during recent walks.  They show patterns in the sky directly above me I discovered while walking creekside trails near my home. My thoughts about the making of these and other wetland photographs during the last five years follows.

When we first moved into our current home, just west of downtown Point Reyes Station, I was pleased to discover that the entrance to the Giacomini Wetlands was only 50 yards from my front door. I began taking morning walks with my camera, discovering the treasures in the reclaimed wetlands of the Tomales Bay delta area. Peaceful trails meander between the historic Giacomini barn, through the wetlands, down to the riparian growth along Lagunitas Creek. I have recorded many moments of beautiful light in both nature’s and man’s creations there.

My early wetlands images were studies of the sparkling dew on plants. I made those closeup photographs with a macro lens as I knelt in the morning light. Later the interior of the abandoned Giacomini dairy barn drew me in and I discovered the striking  display of  patterns the sunlight created through the cracks of the old barn walls . Then, on a spring morning in 2012, I looked up, drawn by a pattern the arching creekside branches created overhead. Spring Tendrils is the infrared photograph I made that morning. Now, this spring I have begun looking up again during my morning walks along the wetlands trail.

This last week a new canopy of branches has begun creating intriguing patterns against the sky.  The warmth of spring has birthed new buds and tiny leaves on the tips of these branches. Fascinated by this display, I’ve pointed my lens skyward again. I’ve used my infrared camera to capture the radiance of this new-born life. The patterns are exquisite… emerging tendrils reach toward each other. The new growth creates windows in the canopy above. Sunlight falls through these openings, warming the ground below.