Justin ice climbing near his home in the Eastern Sierra. Photo © 2003 Linda Shen.

“Since I was very young, I have always loved exploring nature. Summers spent hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Virginia countryside and wading in tidal pools along the Atlantic coast made me profoundly aware of the interconnectedness of the natural world. I recognized early on that there is as much beauty in the polished stones of a stream bed as can be found in a grand vista. Awareness of these various scales of nature promotes deeper visual engagement with the landscape.

“In photographs that seek to capture the compelling sense of movement and depth inherent in every merging of earth, atmosphere, and water, I attempt to develop a strong sense of intimacy with the subject. My work tends to prioritize the aesthetics of motion, form, quality of light, and atmosphere, making use of texture to develop a sense of the tactile qualities of nature.

“Much of my landscape photography seeks to maximize detail and tonal subtleties through the use of large format cameras, and I continue to use a 4x5 view camera and color transparency film for most of my work. For formal landscape photography there is simply no better tool than a view camera loaded with film. I have also embraced digital cameras for the incomparable level of spontaneity and creative freedom that they encourage. For street and travel photography, I will often grab a compact medium format rangerfinder camera loaded with color negative film. Ultimately, choice of format and medium is simply a matter of selecting the best tools to capture the image I have in mind—or of using whatever equipment I happen to have in my pack when the light is right.

“Modern digital printing techniques, in which top-quality archival photographic paper is exposed by red, green, and blue lasers from high-fidelity image files that I have personally mastered in the digital darkroom, ensure optimal qualities of color, luminance and contrast in all of my prints.”