Natural Presence
|
‘‘Spare, contemplative images dominate much of Keith Lazelle’s work. Incredible colors seem to expand beyond their frames, yet seem wholly contained, inviting further contemplation of the natural world.
It should be no surprise, therefore, that Lazelle’s pictures evoke Japanese haiku poetry. As with haiku, his images explore both the subtleties and grandeur of nature’s presence. ‘It was a book of photographic translations of Basho’s haiku that led me into photography.’ Lazelle says. ‘I was fascinated with the images and the photographer’s awareness of color and light and every millimeter of composition within the frame.’
x
|
 |
Today, Lazelle and his wife, Jane Hall (who acts as his agent), live near Quilcene, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula. Some of his clients include: Audubon, Eddie Bauer, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Outside Magazine, Safeco Insurance, Seattle Space Needle, and The Nature Conservancy.’’
--Text Courtesy of Alaska Airlines Magazine
|
|
|
|
 |
One image in the book that especially moved Lazelle was of a cormorant, silhouetted at the base of a black cliff that curved up against a blue sky. The lyrical composition of that image resonates today in Lazelle’s photographs—the layering of light and color in Oregon’s Painted Hills, for example, or the finely detailed patterns and vivid contrast of two madrona leaves lying on gray sandstone.
A native of Washington, Lazelle was raised in the Olympia area and received his bachelor of arts degree from Linfield College in Oregon, where he first studied Asian aesthetics and culture. ‘After four years of college, I had two equally strong desires,’ he says. ‘One was to travel to Japan and study the language and culture, the other was to study the wilderness area of the Pacific Northwest. I headed into the Olympic Mountains that first summer and after a number of years, have still not made it to Japan. In some way, however, I’m getting closer; I think you can find the Japanese heart in the turning seasons.’
|
 |
|
