Photographs inspired by the landscapes and traditions of the American West,
by Mary Brisson of Mancos, Colorado
From the time my brother and I were small children until we left home, my parents took every chance they could to introduce us to the magnificence of the American West. Summer road trips away from the Bay Area suburbs forged our identity as a family.
Vacation time was limited, so we often covered hundreds of miles in a day to see as much as possible of the peaks and deserts. National parks and monuments were our waypoints, the shrines where we joyfully received the grace of a miraculous world. In between, ranches and red rock, storied rivers and high lonesome valleys, majestic forests and infinite plains scrolled outside the car windows like the most glorious movie ever made.
Awe, reverence, and delight in the western landscape have always been at my center, though it took me many years to make my home here. Now I feel fortunate to live in the kind of rural town I used to imagine, and to have slow time to explore and experience the country more deeply.
I hope through my pictures to share some of that time with you, amid the shapes and colors of the canyons and mesas and mountains, and in places where people treasure the landscape and work hard.
Many of my photographs depict public lands: national parks, national monuments, BLM areas. These places deserve our protection, out of recognition that this landscape is essential to our understanding of our lives, and out of respect for forces and reasons beyond our knowing. May we find the wisdom and courage to stand up for the integrity of our natural heritage.
Mary Brisson
Mancos, Colorado
Photograph courtesy of Nancy S. Young