Abandon Preconceived Notions, with David Halpern

When I have an opportunity to photograph a new location, I try to remind myself to go with an open mind and abandon any preconceived notions. I’d heard stories about the wonderfully bizarre Bisti Badlands for years prior to my first visit. Pictures others had made excited my imagination, but when I arrived at the site, I quickly recognized a challenge to my own perceptions.

Here were rock formations and textures unlike any I’d seen elsewhere. As the sun and clouds moved over the landscape I was torn between a desire to move on to see more, and the feeling that I could remain in one small area and be occupied for hours.

Each time I return to the Bisti I find something new and exciting. The visual stimuli are so complex, that I always find details and relationships I failed to see earlier.

Experience the Bisti Badlands with David in his workshop

Bisti Wilderness: Capture to Print
with David Halpern
October 6 - October 11, 2011

To see David’s comments on the Bisti and other subjects, visit: davidhalpern.com/blog