series 1: steep

About El Niño

El Niño is a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather around the globe. Among these consequences are increased rainfalls across the southern tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding, and drought in the West Pacific, sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia. Observations of conditions in the tropical Pacific are considered essential for the prediction of short-term (a few months to 1 year) climate variations.

About the El Niño Series

I created this series in partnership with the El Niño episode in December of 2002 that resulted in powerful storms on the North Pacific coast. The ocean is a symbol for what is vast and unknown. I came to photograph the Pacific Ocean at a time of huge loss and grief in my life. Each day I approached the shores with my grief as an offering, as something I was willing to release as a gift. As large as the ocean is, that is how large I hoped my heart would become. Large enough to stay open to the sweetness of life, even in the inescapable pain of it's decline.

During the time these photographs were taken, the ocean reflected back to me the grace that comes with patience and the process of change. Once sharp, turbulent and broken, my heart transformed to something quiet, empty, but hopeful. As the waves crashed against the shores, much like my grief, they brought in the detritus of the past. Things are discarded, old and worn, but useful. Sifting through them did not dispel my grief, but it did become spacious enough to take flight.

series 1: crash and spray

series 2: westward arch

series 2: bones

series 3: turbulent wash

series 3: movement

series 3: vapor flight

series 3: hover