Doremus Scudder, Death Valley Dunes – Sand and Stone

February 28 through April 29, 2026
Artist reception on Saturday, February 28 from 2-5 pm

The O’Brien Photo Gallery
2833 Willamette, Ste. B
Eugene, OR 97405
(541) 729-3572
Open weekdays from 1-5 pm. Call to be sure
we are open or to reserve a viewing time.
email: picmac1945@gmail.com
web: https://www.waltobrien.net/the…

“I have been drawn to the stark, unforgiving terrain of Death Valley since my first visit in the 1990s. In the midst of this otherwise rugged and unforgiving landscape lie pockets of surprising softness: Dunes. These lie baking in the blistering sun for the most part, but in the glancing light of sunrise and sunset, they take on an unexpected voluptuousness and sensuality. Their strong forms and many moods, in my view, are rendered more distinctly and powerfully with my chosen “instrument”: Black-and-white.

I usually approach the landscape with patience, and introspection, but capturing the fleeting instants created by the moving light on the dunes requires working as quickly as I can with a 4×5 camera and a tripod. I have been fortunate enough to have been rewarded generously. I believe that the forms and textures in nature resonate strongly with our most basic natures, demonstrating a kinship that we often overlook in our modern existence. I offer them in this spirit.”

Doremus Scudder began photographing seriously in his early twenties, eventually stepping up to, and mastering the techniques of, the view camera. He now works exclusively in black-and-white, using large-format cameras and film, and crafts silver-gelatin prints in the darkroom. Nothing is done using digital technology.

Within this medium, he uses varied subject matter, careful organization, and a broad and expressive palette of tonalities to create images of strong form and character. For Doremus, the

function of art is to enrich and uplift the human spirit through excellence and beauty: it is to this end that he strives. The photographs themselves are their own best description, expressing their wordless world eloquently in the language of light.

Doremus Scudder’s work is exhibited widely and represented in numerous galleries and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. More of his work can be seen at his website: www.DoremusScudder.com