Professional Photographer John T. Parkinson's Statement

Our physical world is exquisitely glorious! And notwithstanding some mismanagement and abuse by its tenants, the resplendent beauty of the tangible earth certainly outweighs any ugliness. Nature/landscape photography is merely a vehicle employed to enhance in others a greater awareness of and an appreciation for its soul-enriching beauty.

Although I crave that rare talent, I do not consider myself to be an artist. However, with my camera I can record, perhaps, a "whit and a tittle" the work of the greatest Artist. This meager attempt to document with justness such transcendent work can be patently satisfying.

One approach to good photography is for the image-maker to hone in on a clear-cut vision and then implement those techniques that best express his own highest passions. Leo Nikalaevich Tolstoi wrote: "Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to which men have risen."

All of our senses can be pleasantly stimulated: Hearing a baby giggle, smelling a rose, tasting chocolate and lightly rubbing finely finished wood furniture with our fingertips come to mind. Researchers have stated, however, that of all the stimuli that reach the human brain, more than 90 per cent is visual. An opportunity to kindle an empathetic response to one's own appreciation of the art in nature may therefore be accomplished through landscape photography.

The greatest inspiration to do fine landscape photography, however, derives from the resplendent beauty in nature, which is, of course, the art of God.