story behind the photo

I photographed Rotate in a wildlife refuge on the East Coast at the precise moment a great white heron lifted from the ground, entering that brief, irreversible transition between earth and air. In aviation, “rotate” is the instant when an aircraft leaves the runway, and the term felt equally right here, marking the threshold where weight becomes lift. By working with a slower shutter speed and following the bird through its first movement upward, form begins to dissolve and motion takes over, transforming feathers into fluid and flight into gesture. What interests me most in moments like this is not the technical act of flight, but the poetry of becoming airborne, the split second when gravity releases its hold. The image is intentionally abstracted, allowing the viewer to feel ascent rather than observe it, and that sense of elevation, release, and transformation is what continues to draw collectors and institutions to this work. It exists in the space between wildlife documentation and visual metaphor, where motion becomes language and the subject rises beyond description.

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”
Psalm 91:4 (NIV)

print process and availability

Rotate is offered as a dye infused metal architectural panel, created by infusing archival dyes directly into a specially coated aluminum surface to produce exceptional luminosity, depth, and clarity. This process is particularly well suited to images defined by motion and light, allowing the whites of the great white heron to remain clean and dimensional while preserving the fluid, painterly quality created by the slower shutter speed. The image becomes part of the aluminum itself rather than sitting on the surface, resulting in a smooth, frameless presentation with a strong architectural presence that complements the scale and abstraction of the work. This piece is available as a limited edition of 12, produced at 40 x 60 inches, with each architectural panel signed, titled, and numbered by the artist, and once the edition is complete, no additional dye infused metal architectural panels of Rotate will be produced.