The black and white photographs presented in this study represent a sampling of images I have taken in Utahs West Desert. To the west, southwest & northwest of Salt Lake City is the beginning of the expanse known as the Great Basin. Utah's part of this Basin and Range landscape is called the West Desert. In this region the desert mountains are austere, the valleys parched, trees rare, and colors more than occasionally monochromatic. However, the often dramatic play of light and shadow, clouds and sky, rocks and trees are perfectly suited to black & white imagery. All of these photos were captured with a variety of infrared-sensitive cameras and converted to B&W images. With infrared B&W photography, skies and water can take on an inky blackness, clouds pop in dramatic fashion, foliage becomes milky white and grass is often mistaken for snow. Depending upon atmospheric conditions, images can be topographically sharp or soft and gauzy with a ghostly dreaminess.

Whether it is a calm autumn day on some unnamed peak or a wintry morning in a forgotten desert valley Utah's West Desert can be a fascinating study for one willing to see things in a different light.