Tom Meyer
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Introduction to Desert Photography
The desert is a place of quiet where trees, mountains and rocks are bleached into shimmering haze.
I first took my camera into the desert over 20 years ago, looking for some peace and quiet. I found it in the Negev desert, from the Dead Sea to the border with Egypt, in the south of Israel. It was barren, but not at all lonely.
The Negev is small by world standards, only about thirteen thousand square kilometers but has a history dating back to the time of the bible. It had its own little Silk Road, known as the Perfume Route. Camel caravans carrying frankincense and myrrh from Yemen in southern Arabia traveled northwards through the Sinai and Negev deserts, and on to the Mediterranean ports. Only the Nabateans, an ancient desert people, knew the routes through the rocky valleys and where to find water for man and beast. They built cities where caravans could rest and re-supply, but their trade vanished with the coming of the Romans and today only their ruined cities remain.
Most of my images speak of a great expanse, contrasts, and a hidden strength. Creating an image out of the parts of the desert that speak to me means enduring the high temperatures, the dust, the winds that rise up unexpectedly and making the most of the cooler hours when the sun gives up its heat and for a little while the landscape breathes.
The Desert in Color
Deserts allow space for beauty and solitude, offering a new way to look at the world, and at oneself. The desert threatens and beckons the photographer.
Viewing nature from a different angle and distance creates an unexpected world of color and shapes. The imagination is unleashed, free to play with lines, hues and patterns.
The Desert in Monochrome
In the desert color can sometimes be a distraction.
The Negev is a rocky desert and the bones of the land stand out clearly. These bones are clothed in contrasts, textures and various tones. The delicate shades of gray reveal a spectacle where there is an ongoing and relentless process of change.
These images demand the use of monochrome allowing the important contrast and texture of the desert to take center stage.
My attraction to the desert is connected to the search for space, peace and a sense of purity that exists there. In the desert I realize I cannot escape from myself and I turn to the fragility of life and a harshness balanced by the desert’s inherent beauty.
Tom Meyer
2012
The photographer
Tom Meyer was born in Berlin and grew up in New Zealand. From an early age hiking through the bush and mountains gave him a love for nature that is still reflected in many of his images.
Tom has attended workshops in Canada and today is a professional freelance photographer whose goal is to provide creative emotive images based on visual design techniques and abstract formats. His images have been displayed in private and public collections around the world.
On a more technical level, his images indicate a sense of height (proportion), reality (information), aesthetic objects and overall a sense of balance.
Tom also teaches courses in photography ranging from basic principles to advanced techniques dealing with abstract, landscape, nature, people and travel photography. Traveling extensively has provided him with considerable experience which he shares with his students in workshops and field trips.
For further information please contact the photographer directly by:
E-mail: tom_meyer@meyerimages.com
Website: www.meyerimages.com
