Spring-Summer 2007

Photos of prairie fire and monarch butterfly by LeAnn Spencer and Steve Duke

This Place Is Beautiful But Not Pristine

Susan L. Moore

Copyright © 2007. All rights reserved.

My interest in nature and landscape is rooted in my own experiences living in both rural and urban environments. I photograph a landscape confined, restrained, or reshaped by human action or man-made objects.

In the summer of 2006 I was able to travel and make photographs with the assistance of an Indiana University South Bend Research Grant. I photographed bodies of water, and the horizon line where the earth water and land meet in an infinite view. This is a landscape that diminishes the human qualities. It refers to the shape of the earth and its immense scale in relationship to humanity. The manmade elements in these images are subtle and contrast to an expectation of beauty.

My photographs reflect my understanding of the landscape as a source of beauty, and as an integral part of humanity. The images illustrate my search for a visual understanding through the lens of my camera, and my desire to preserve and elevate the ordinary landscapes.