Mitchell Caverns
is a living desert. Why not look for life?” That brief encounter is what changed Kathleen’s
perspective.
The exhibition includes small succulents growing out of rocks and trees that appear on cliff
faces where it seems impossible for anything to become more than a small weed. Backlighted
Joshua trees interrupt the valley floor’s vastness and fire damaged branches at Midhills reach
for the graphic clouds above. And storm clouds appear to menace the Kelso Dunes as
the wisp of a crescent moon lingers in the afternoon sky above ancient stones. “Being a
photographer forces me to look for beautiful light. Low light is my thing. I find more
texture in low light; it adds an element of drama,” Kathleen says.
Printed on a luster paper the images are studies of favorite preserve locations but there is
a professional’s eye at work in the images. Particular choices have been made to detract
elements out of the frame helping the viewer’s eye focus on the simplicity of the image.
“Wide lenses are my favorite. I bracket a lot because I know I’ll be back to the same location
many times to capture it in a different light.”
It certainly paid off. The images are lyrical. Soft gray tones blend into deep blacks as the
succulents, Joshua trees and cactus clinging to whatever they can to sustain themselves and
occupy the frames with life. Fischer’s years in the inner-city darkroom come to bear in this
exhibition. Her patience and exquisitely trained eye have produced a visual showpiece that
is one not to miss.
Nov/Dec 2018
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THE DESERT LIGHT
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