Recently, I was reviewing my images of Death Valley that I had made in 2013. They were taken at a photography workshop with three outstanding instructors: Bruce Barnbaum, Jay Dusard, and Jack Dykinga. One of our outings was to 20 Mule Team Canyon, an area of eroded hills made famous by its history of borax mining. As I stood on the road at the floor of the canyon, I noticed Jack standing on a hilltop with his camera set on a tripod. Curious, I climbed the hill to see what he was looking at.

Jack pointed out an interesting V-shaped notch in the foreground hills, and he said he was making a panorama image of the hills and notch. I was so taken by the beauty of the scene that I made my own panorama image of it while standing right next to Jack. (You can see it on my website in the color landscapes gallery.)

But the panorama shot I made was Jack’s vision; I was seeing with his eyes, not mine. On reviewing my images from that workshop again, I was struck by another photo I had taken of the same scene that was not part of the panorama. It was a closer view of the V notch, and when I converted it to black and white and adjusted the tones to my liking, I felt that this was an image I could really call my own.

On the same afternoon as our visit to 20 Mule Team Canyon, we also stopped at Zabriskie Point. There, I made this next photo. I have never published or exhibited either of these photos before, but now I enjoy looking at the two together.

"Good artists copy, great artists steal." - Pablo Picasso

A few years ago I took a workshop with Bruce Barnbaum. During the workshop Bruce showed a lot of his prints and talked about the art of seeing and creating. My photo, Machu Picchu, Clouds and Birds, was inspired by a print Bruce showed from his first Machu Picchu trip. It has stuck in my mind ever since, and I occasionally go to his website to view it. What captivated me about his photo were the mountains peeking through the clouds and how he used the wall to anchor the scene.

The thought occurred to me that I am stealing Bruce's idea, that the image is his vision, not mine. In a way, it's true. I probably would not have thought of taking this particular photo had I not seen his. But the two photos are different. I chose to shoot the wall straight on, while Bruce's wall is angled slightly. I remember trying to capture the birds flying up in the clouds and around the ruins. Using a handheld camera, I was able to take several shots in the hope of capturing a bird swooping around the ruins. I believe Bruce was shooting with his 4x5 view camera, so it would not have been practical for him to include flying birds. And, of course, clouds are never the same.

Subscribe to my blog. You will be notified each time there is a new post.

We respect your privacy.