Slot Canyon

Utah is famous for its extraordinary natural wonders; among them the San Rafael Swell through which Muddy Creek slices a winding and narrow pathway. At the mouth of the Chute of Muddy Creek are several small slot canyons that I discovered a few years back when I visited for the first time. Remote, hard to find and even harder to get to, the mouth of the Chute of Muddy Creek is the site of the now abandoned Hidden Splendor uranium mine. An airstrip that once served the uranium business is now maintained for flying enthusiasts who stop to rest there as they tour the Swell from the sky. There are no amenities of any kind - just the landing strip and a sign that cautions to stay off of it. The area is surrounded by towering cliffs and a stunning quietness that's occasionally punctuated by the sound of wild mountain goats knocking rocks to the ground as they climb the sheer cliffs. The creek, which runs year round is almost always full of red soil and silt that washes down from the sides of the canyons. Thus the name Muddy Creek. 

When I visited the Chute of Muddy Creek the first time I was with two friends who turned their cameras on me in an interesting reversal of roles. I'm not a model, I'm a photographer. But this time I sat my camera down, got naked and sunk down into the mud to play. I was having a lot of fun being photographed for a change but all I could think of the entire time was how soon would I be able to return there with some of my favorite models. I have returned, several times, and each has been a wild ride with my models playing in the mud, posing in the tiny slot canyons and braving the heat and insects with me for a challenging, exciting adventure. 

This is a picture of Jed, a martial artist and fire dancer who spent the better part of a day naked with me, hiking through the mouth of the canyon and across the creek several times to get to a small slot canyon that has no name. It's eerie and quiet in there - the walls of the narrow slot rising up a couple of hundred feet on each side. A large stone slab crossing the slot at one point forms a perfect stage for posing, playing and resting. This nameless little slot canyon is always my destination there - it feels meditative, calming and sensual. Lying on my back, naked on the canyon floor, I look up at the towering walls on each side to the open sky above and wonder how long it's taken for all of this to form. Considering how slowly it all happens I'm guessing it's thousands of years. When I was there with Jed this summer I wondered what it would look like if I revisited it in a thousand years and decided it probably wouldn't be much different unless something in the climate radically changed. 

The locations I choose for my work are as important as the models I choose. Each must be enveloped by the other so that the images reflect the harmony of human and earth that I believe is inherent in all of us. There is no hidden meaning or purpose in my work. I love our bodies, I love this earth we live on and my work is simply a reflection of that love and fascination. Utah offers an extraordinary range of possibilities, both with her natural scenic wonders and her people. It's been an amazing adventure here for the past 7 years and I've done more nudes in the wildlands than I ever could have imagined. I could continue here forever creating images that fill me with wonder and satisfaction - but it's time to move on and explore new corners of the world.