Cottonwood Stump Along Ditch No. 3, Cache la Poudre River Near Greeley, Colorado 1996

Here is a black and white photograph of a Cottonwood Stump along Ditch No. 3, Cache la Poudre River near Greeley, Colorado, by William Wylie. I imagine Wylie out there, setting up his camera, seeing the play of light on the rough bark of the cottonwood stump. The texture looks so real you could almost touch it! It's like Wylie wants us to really *see* this old tree stump. Think about the choices he made: the light, the angle, the way he framed it. The stark black and white tones lend the photograph a timeless, almost melancholic feel. I think of other artists, like Minor White, who also found beauty and mystery in the natural world. There's a quiet conversation happening, a shared appreciation for the strange beauty of things that are often overlooked. It's a reminder that even in what seems like a simple photograph, there's a whole world of feeling and thought.