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Steve J. Giardini
Steve J. Giardini is a Bend, Oregon fine art photographer. Each photograph he creates represents his subjective interpretation of a moment in time. All are thoughtfully composed, creatively processed, and artistically presented as fine art paper prints. Steve is a life-long learner, educator, advocate for wild places, and a photo workshop leader.
The John Day National Monument, Painted Hills Unit is near Mitchell, Oregon, USA. One glance at the landscape conjures millennia of extreme geologic changes. Experts tell us a once tropical climate was followed by a volcanic period during the Eocene and Oligocene epoch.
Hot, wet and cool, dry weather extremes produced layers of volcanic red ash, mudstone, siltstone, shale and lignite. Chemical elements in the soil including aluminum, iron, magnesium, titanium, and others mixed and oxidized. The colorful mounds we see today is the result of this slow 50 million year geologic transition.
Ironically it was during an outing to the Painted Hills that I began a photographic transition. Unfulfilled with capturing objective, representational images, I began to explore other approaches. Influenced and inspired by the work and prose of creative role models like Guy Tal, Bruce Barnbaum, and the cadre of other expressive photographers, I reexamined my personal motivation and ambition.
The photographs in this folio represent transition first steps. They represent a new mindset, a new creative intent. The transition has begun. I don’t expect the transition to be quick or easy. I am only hoping it won’t take a millennium!
