Finding god.

A waterfall in the Otira Gorge, Petrus van der Velden, 1891.

I remember meeting this painting as a young boy at the Dunedin Art Gallery in the late 70’s and falling in love with the scale, texture, depth and gold frame. The subdued lighting made it feel like a holy ground. This painting, in it’s environment was a window straight to God, getting even closer than standing in the actual landscape. (sandflies and all). To me the New Zealand landscape, was now my new god.

I didn’t know at the time that I would be trying to recreated this feeling through my own photography as an adult. This was my first mistake…Silly Boy.

Photography just wouldn’t cut it. “Photography is mechanical reproduction at it’s best.” And with all my best efforts realized that photography is better put to use as a cultural document.

So this Noah my son, meeting this painting for the first time. He stopped….for a long time in silence….. didn’t move…..And I knew, he had seen god.