A Sense of Place

"Like most photographers, I have always loved how monochrome can express mood, and I tend to render my images with deep shadows while attempting to find that one piece of contrast to offset the shadows. I prefer the smaller scenes, the intimate landscapes where what they lack in grandeur they make up for in detail and quiet contemplation. I see my images not begging for attention nor seeking ovations, as those who can appreciate them will eventually find them."

- Joseph W Smith

"An amateur in the best sense. I recently moved to southern Maine from sunny San Diego, California, so my photographic sensibilities come from the beautiful and spacious Southwest. Thus, I have reached this in-between place in my photography, hoping to again fall in love with a landscape and find that sense of place we all seek.

Fortunately, Maine delivers all four seasons, and each is photogenic. Even autumn, so full of explosive color, has opportunities to express itself in highly textured and layered monochrome.

The empty trees take on a beautifully complex silhouette when the leaves fall.

The move to Maine transformed my photographic palette from the reds and browns of the Southwest to the greens and grays of New England.

And yet, the desire to work this new landscape in monochrome was equally compelling.

"Maine is a woodland environment, M and at first, I felt confined, almost claustrophobic, after spending so much of my photographic life in the wide-open spaces of the Southwest. Yet, the deep woodlands, the meadows, the farms, and the coast all brought new life to my work. Instead of ranches, I found farms; the barbed wire fences replaced by stone walls; aspens and cottonwoods replaced by the beautiful birch that contrasts so nicely in B&W. I have discovered that Maine has enriched it rather than stinting my creativity.