In A Rut #1 Canvas Print

In Nebraska, deeply eroded ruts cut by thousands of wagons sliding downhill with their wheels locked produced starting points for future scars on the land. This eroded ‘ditch’ was created by thousands of covered wagons exiting the bottom of the Windless hill on their way to Ash Hollow and some sweet spring water.

The Great Platte River Road was no neatly engineered lane where prairie schooners rolled prettily in single file, but an evolving, rowdy free-for-all of multiple ruts scoring the river valley. Traffic went both ways as emigrants, commercial freight caravans, stagecoaches, and postal relay riders moved back and forth between East and West. New tracks were created as ox-drawn wagons and mule trains passed each other and spread out three, six, or more abreast to escape the choking dust kicked up by those ahead. Some Oregon-California Trail wagon track remnants can be seen in the valley beyond the ditch.

Some digital effects were applied to the original image...

Photography is all about using light to capture the emotion and beauty of a fleeting moment. For me, this adventure began with a single spring image using a small Kodak film camera of a freshly watered central Kansas ditch and has come full circle using modern digital techniques. My first camera was acquired by trading an ancient Royal typewriter to a fellow college student who was desperate to finish a term paper. It was a long time ago and that camera was my passport to an art that has fascinated me ever since. I owned and operated a professional studio in central Kansas for 20 years and moved to Colorado in 1994. Part of the studio's early success came from creating outdoor portraiture using controlled lighting...