story behind the photo

I photographed Organic Speed while on assignment for the National Geographic Society, during what remains one of the most meaningful and rewarding assignments of my career. I wanted to move beyond a literal depiction of a cheetah and instead express what it feels like to witness pure speed in nature, not just how it looks. By using a slower shutter speed and tracking the animal as it ran, the background dissolves into motion while the cheetah remains just recognizable enough to feel alive, powerful, and fleeting. This approach allows motion itself to become the subject, transforming speed into something organic and emotional rather than mechanical. For me, wildlife photography is not only about documenting animals, it is about honoring the life God placed within them, the beauty of their design, and the energy that flows through creation when everything is working as it was intended.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?”
Job 12:7–9 (NIV)

PRINT PROCESS & AVAILABILITY

Organic Speed is offered as a carbon transfer print, one of the most refined and archival photographic printing processes ever developed. Carbon transfer prints are created using handmade pigmented tissue that is exposed, developed, and transferred by hand onto fine art paper, resulting in extraordinary tonal depth, rich blacks, and a subtle surface texture that enhances both motion and form. This labor intensive process allows the movement within the image to feel organic and dimensional, giving the cheetah’s motion a physical presence that cannot be replicated by modern digital printing methods. This work is available as a limited edition of seven, produced at 32 x 40 inches, with each print signed, titled, and numbered by the artist, and once the edition is complete, no additional carbon transfer prints of Organic Speed will be produced.