Dakota Sandstone

Copyright © by J.R. Lancaster. All rights reserved.

—“Dakota sandstone, unlike other types of sandstone, is extremely fine grained...dense...lots of labor to polish. The rust-colored rhythmic patterns formed when iron-rich dust was wind blown into very fluid sand. Then a period of drought desiccated the ripples of iron. Very cool process. [Throwing water on the sandstone will] reveal patterns that very much look like the canyon country landscape” (J.R. Lancaster, in email to Clare MacQueen, 26 June 2016).

Rock On

Copyright © by J.R. Lancaster. All rights reserved.

—“You have to be there when conditions are prime...mud has its moments” (J.R. Lancaster, Facebook, 5 September 2014).

The mud-encapsulated rock above was photographed in White Canyon near Natural Bridges Monument, where “...once again, iron-rich silt covered a cobble rock. The sun came out and dried the mud. I came along at the right time because the next day it would have dried out completely and flaked off...right time, right place” (J.R. Lancaster, in email to Clare MacQueen, 26 June 2016).

On Pre-Visualization:

“I learned to see from the old school way...with big-view cameras. Pre-visualization was imperative with all the work/$ of traditional photography...so I learned to see before clicking the shutter. I worked all summer on a B&W vegetable still-life series. I grew the veggies...photographed them...processed negs, printed, compared, and did it over and over again. Composition/seeing photographically then becomes as natural as breathing.”

—J.R. Lancaster (in comments posted to Facebook on 5 September 2014); republished here with artist’s permission

Publisher’s Notes:

1. Dakota Sandstone posted 10 January 2015 in artist’s Facebook gallery; reproduced here with artist’s permission

2. Rock On posted 30 May 2014 in artist’s Facebook gallery; reproduced here with artist’s permission

Bio: J.R. Lancaster