Photographer's Note

"I have been primarily a musician, a singer/songwriter, for most of my life: recording, writing, performing. Although I continue to perform solo piano in venues locally, over the last ten years I have beengradually losing my hearing to the point that I cannot function as a musician as I have in the past.

I have always loved the visual arts, especially painting and sculpture, b u t was never able to achieve success in trying to master them. The last few years I have pursued digital photography to try and satisfy my desire to capture a little of the wonder of life visually. I have found it achallenge as well as an opportunity for a new burst of creativity.

I have struggled finding my "voice" as a visual artist during this process. This collection of photographs has come the closest to achieving a unity of vision, to distill the wonder a n d awe I feel when confronting the natural world, and expressing some of the profound wisdom I find there. I am grateful to be able to continue to express myself in this way.

Picasso said, when describing his art, "I do not seek, I find." These photos represent the joyful surprises I've managed to find while taking photographs.

Bruce Mello