Great Plains
GREAT PLAINS
In the last decade I’ve made several trips out to the Great Plains—the land east of the Rockies, and west of the 98th meridian. It's the one place in America where I feel a strong connection to the land and nature. The wail of coyotes and the glow of constellations fill the plains with simple graces: the rustle of wind in a stand of cottonwoods, the radiance of light on the Big Sioux River, and the flicker of shadows among abandoned houses. I became fascinated by the prairie churches that were often far off the main roads. Filled with shimmering light, they stood out like beacons in the far distance; and I spent several weeks finding some of them and photographing their austere, yet radiant beauty. I flew into Rapid City, South Dakota, or Omaha, Nebraska, or Denver, Colorado, and I just drove for days, photographing prairie fires, a storm, a church or a small town.