Brian Vuillemenot                                         ~ About the Photographer ~
      Images of Enchantment


Self-portrait, Claunch, New Mexico

   The workings of the natural world have always fascinated me. Starting as a young child, and continuing throughout my life, much of my time has been spent seeking refuge away from civilization. I developed an interest in photography as a way to record the natural wonders I was fortunate enough to experience and share them with others. My photography seeks to capture the ephemeral- brief moments of time when sublime light and fleeting weather conditions co-exist. I am especially drawn to the edge- the contrasts between night and day, calm and storm, life and death, order and chaos. Of particular interest is finding harmony and meaning within the structure of the landscape and geometric forms of nature. Rather than focusing on grand vistas, I am often drawn to view the landscape in a more intimate fashion. Living in an imperfect, disorganized world, the creation of order within the confines of a photograph is extremely fulfilling.

  The subjects I photograph have emerged out of my interest and professional training in biology, ecology, and geology. Having lived for four years in New Mexico, I traveled extensively to document the unique geology and ecology of that state. I spent a total of about six weeks over those four years exploring and photographing the Bisti Badlands, a rarely visited moonscape located in a remote section of northwest New Mexico. I am particularly proud of the portfolio that I created in the Bisti, and feel that this body of work is representative of my photographic vision. My current photographic projects include the geology, ecology, and human history of the central California coast, the Owens Valley, Death Valley, and the Mojave and Colorado Deserts.

  Most of my work is done with large format view cameras in the 4X5, 4X10, and 8X10 inch formats. These cameras produce large transparencies with many times the area of a 35mm camera, making possible highly detailed, grainless enlargements with vivid color tones. In addition, the slow, contemplative approach dictated by the large size of the equipment results in meticulously crafted images. I also often use a Fuji 6X17 centimeter roll film panoramic camera alongside my 4X5. Focal lengths of the lenses I use range from 58mm- 450mm. However, approximately half of my photographs are made with normal lenses- a 150mm on 4X5 and a 300mm on 8X10. Like many other color landscape photographers, Fujichrome Velvia is my film of choice almost exclusively. For metering, I have come to depend on a Horseman through-the-lens exposure meter that slides into the back of my camera. This method greatly simplifies the photographic process, freeing up my attention to concentrate on the composition of photographs in rapidly changing light conditions. Since many of my photographs are exposed in the low light conditions that exist before sunrise and after sunset, I often rely on past experience to “ballpark” exposures lasting up to several minutes. I print my photographs digitally from high resolution scans using the Lightjet and Epson Ultrachrome processes.   

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