THE PHOTOGRAPHIC POETRY OF WIL ARMAND

The best kind of writing tends to show rather than tell - it makes you feel without having to explain itself. Colorado Springs-based nature photographer, Wil Armand (@wilarmand) captures that essence through his work. His detailed, close-up photographs of various elements in nature are very much visual poetry. His work is distinct; perfectly capturing the earth's time-worn patterns and textures.

Wil's photographs immediately make you feel as though you were there when they were taken. It's as if you can clearly follow your eyes along the imperfect grooves of Colorado's iconic sandstone formations, run your hand along the ridges in a tree's bark, or feel the give of the sand beneath your feet as you walk about Great Sand Dunes National Park. Each photo is like witnessing a different moment in time - an intimate experience of nature's stillness and beauty.

For more of Wil's work, follow along on Instagram @wilarmand.

From the Artist:
"My artistic gift is one of seeing, and the photograph is my craft. I've always been aware of patterns, particularly in nature. The combination of elements in a scene, the placement of objects and natural patterns are, to me, very high art. What I do in a photograph, is to pause, consider what my gift of seeing notices, then gather the light of a fragment of time and hold it still, giving others the opportunity to linger in those moments.

I've been making photographs for almost 60 years. In my teens I turned my artistic attention from drawing and painting to the photograph because I wanted to capture nature as it was, in all its glorious detail, not interpret and abbreviate it. My early work is black and white, primarily large format. When I started with large format work, I began by photographing sweeping landscapes, but also captured the details. As digital cameras became viable, I began photographing in color. Today, the subject matter of my work is primarily details.

Residing in Colorado Springs, I have a variety of both mountain regions and city parks close at hand. I often find myself pausing on a trail and capturing the beauty in what most people step on."

Photographs courtesy of Wil Armand. Photo credit: All images ©Will Armand, various dates.