Water covers nearly 71% of the Earth’s surface and the human body is  approximately 60% water. Water is essential for all known forms of life.  It is one of the four classical elements and is widely regarded as the  basic substance of the universe. It is a symbol of purification in literature and in most religions. Water is indeed the lifeblood of the Earth.

The Susquehanna Simpatico Collection began simply enough as experimentations with long exposures of flowing water. Virtually all of the water abstractions were captured at a single location underneath the US Route 30 bridge on the Wrightsville, York County, Pennsylvania  side of the Susquehanna River. The images depict not only the life of the Susquehanna River itself but also life, and in some cases death, on the river and its banks.

The wildlife and scenic images of the Susquehanna were made in my kayak and on land in and around the Rivertowns of Wrightsville in York County, and Columbia and Marietta, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They took shape as I explored various processing and digital painting techniques; as “straight” photography, these images seemed to depart from the ethereal, dream-like quality of the water in motion during long exposures. These experimentations have become meditations not only in an aesthetic / technical sense but also in a more symbolic sense as I continue to explore farther north and south along this mighty tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.

The water purifies and sustains. It is timeless and eternal and it connects all things in the cycle of life. The Susquehanna Simpatico Collection is the result of this long and ongoing process of experimentation and meditation. It is my hope that you enjoy my view of the Susquehanna and can in some small measure share my affinity to its beauty and take from it a message of conservation and preservation. Peace!