Wandering in search of a memorable image I came upon a stone with splashes of color and an interesting shape. Except for the rock walls of the canyons of the southwest rocks had never been among the objects that drew my attention. I just had never looked closely. This little rock changed that. I began looking and what I saw stirred excitement. The search took me to rock faces where I could find them, the most productive source was among the cuts made in constructing roads and highways. I discovered that much of the beauty was halfway hidden and required moving within 5 to 10 feet. I could not believe what I saw in the camera's viewer untouched by any processing. Stones that had been stationary for time wore a mantle of life and former life, lichens, moss, algae and various fungi. Minerals exuded from the rock faces leaving their long dry traces like cascading waterfalls, minerals also jumped out with puffs, splashes and dabs. In the right light, something strange and wonderful happened within the camera when contact with some of these rock faces was made, the colors exploded, the lichens glistened and sprayed, objects popped out, some on the surface, some from down deep inner light. The surface of the rocks, round or rough, translucent or opaque reflect a host of bold colors which intermix, sometimes flowing together creating a variety of abstractions. On some rocks the colors appear to be applied with brush strokes. Intermittently black becomes the color of the stone or of the mud interlacing the stone, imbedded in the mud or stone are light colors especially tones of white creating separate moods and abstractions.

I hope these two portfolios display some part of the often hidden beauty contained in these galleries of stone.