Landscapes

Landscape Portfolio

Lawrence Standifer Stevens

For a fair-skinned white boy who spends most of his time in the dark, sitting in front of his computer, I love being outdoors in Nature and photographing it in all its glory. It calms me and gives me time to slow down, catch my breath, and reflect how small a part of the universe I am. And, yet, I see more clearly than usual that I am no less important in the grand scheme of things than the squirrel across the way keeping an eye on me while he plays with his nuts.

Sometimes I get lucky and play it very lazy when I find a beautiful vista on the side of the road that begs me to photograph it before the moment passes. And, so, I've learned to have my camera with me most of the time. But the photographs that really fill my spirit are the ones I have to work for — the 500 mile trek to a two week stay at a desolate ranch in West Texas so I could climb down the rim of a 1000 foot deep canyon to shoot a 360° panorama of a fishing camp at 2 a.m., just as the full moon rises.

Soon, I'll get an itch to find another rugged place I can hike to with as much gear as I think I will ever use and find just the right spot to wait for the light to make things happen.

~ Lawrence Standifer Stevens