Images of the Big Bend and Other Vast Spaces
Photography Exhibition on view 30 June 2019 – 26 July 2019
RECEPTION 14 July 2019 2:00 – 4:00 PM free and open to the public
West Gallery, Jaycee Park Center for the Arts, 1975 Puritan Dr., Irving TX 75061
Sponsored by the Irving Art Association
About the Photographer: Terry Cockerham
While Terry was in the military, he took up photography as a hobby. After leaving the military and refining his skills, he then worked for five years at UT Southwestern Medical School as a medical photojournalist during the day while simultaneously teaching photography classes for adults in the evening at one of the local junior colleges. Terry also took on medical illustration for a time as his vocation. Mr. Cockerham now works as a free-lance photographer, and focuses on art photography.
For more about Terry and to view portfolios of his work, see his website http://www.terrycockerhamphotography.com/
Big Bend Photo Project
In 2002, I made my first trip to the Big Bend National Park. When I drove into and around the park on that first day, I knew I was hooked. There was no traffic. There was no noise. There was a mountain range completely within the boundary of the 800,000 acre park with a high point of 7,825 feet. The Chihuahuan desert surrounds the mountains, and the Rio Grande river forms the border with Mexico.
I have always appreciated the style of photos created by Ansel Adams in Yosemite. I knew this place could be my Yosemite. Once I started photographing Big Bend, I promised myself to keep my focus on the three things that Ansel Adams did to create his incredible images.
The three things are:
- Pre-visualize the image before you take the shot.
- Keep the image as sharp as the lens and camera will allow.
- Make the selected paper prints in black and white (the style of Ansel Adams and others from that period).
After each visit in the past 17 years, I tell myself that I have covered everything that the park has to offer, but that is truly an impossible task. Every day, every hour, every minute something changes in the park, and I have still yet to explore the park in winter. I keep thinking that I will get to that “last visit” sometime in the near future.
Final Note: Big Bend has been a project that keeps me going, but as
time goes by I have to move into other areas I have yet to visit. I’ve
been lucky enough to take photographs in a number of locations,
including the mountains and deserts in Utah and New Mexico, but there is
always more…
much… much… more.
