Sunset Clouds Over Dune Swale

I became enthralled by color photography while learning to become a field biologist on Sandy Neck Beach. I had been a black and white purist since discovering my passion for making photographs a few years earlier, but realizing that Kodachrome should be the film of choice for a budding field biologist, I set out to master it.

The first few slides I made are bird images, and they are clearly an earnest attempt to capture data. The next slides are sunset images (see following image). I was compelled to know if I could capture that extraordinary color! It seems the die was cast, and I was not long for field work.

Seven years later, with my transition from field biologist to large format film photographer complete, I returned to the same part of Sandy Neck to make this early panoramic image.

We must return to our touchstones, for what is the purpose of them if we do not?