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| All photographs by Nate Cowlishaw |
Written by Tracie Sullivan
Like many landscape photographers, Nate Cowlishaw invests his time looking for that perfect shot.
Over the last 15 years, he estimates that he’s taken more than 150,000 photos, but unlike other artists who drive 400 miles in one day to find that one scene void of any human element, Cowlishaw will drive the same distance to include just that—the presence of life, whether remnants of the past or still residing in the present.
“Where 95 percent of landscape photographers will intentionally cut out the human element and the human culture from the natural landscape,”Cowlishaw said, “I intentionally look out and incorporate reality.”
For Cowlishaw, it’s all about telling a story, one that reflects not only the “pristine wilderness” around us but the reality of the world we live in.
“I won’t separate the human element from the natural scenery in my landscape photography because there is no such thing as pristine wilderness,” he said. “Man and nature are not separate; we’re inseparable.”
At the end of March, Cowlishaw is headed on a 9,500 mile journey that will take him on a tour of the Southwest, documenting what he calls “Modern Americana.”
“I want to capture what is quickly disappearing, what is there now and start trying to interpret what the future may hold in store for us,” Cowlishaw said. “I’ve made it my life’s work to document these places in the Southwest for future generations who will be able to look back on my work and see what things once looked like.”
Starting in his hometown of Cedar City, Cowlishaw plans to travel west in his Suzuki Vitara to California, then to the Mexican border, through Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico.
“I will also be exploring the mysteries and folklore that is an inseparable part of Southwestern culture and landscape, such as UFOs, aliens, Bigfoot, skinwalkers, haunted houses, ghost towns, and abandoned places of mystery,” Cowlishaw said. “I will be exploring the histories and stories of different areas such as New Mexico and the Roswell Incident. I will look at the people who haunt these landscapes and live in these colorful communities.”
As part of this trip, he plans to take some of the back roads that will allow him to explore rural communities off the main route to capture the stories of American Folklore through his photographs.
“My strongest desire is to locate some of the most isolated parts of the United States off main thoroughfares and going off the grid if the opportunity presents itself,” he said.
To fund his trip, Cowlishaw launched a Kickstarter campaign—“The Great Southwestern Suzuki Adventure”—back in January to raise a stated goal of $10,000.
During the three months since, with the support of many of his 50,000 followers on his “Talking Tree” Instagram account, the photographer has not only raised the needed money for the trip but also nearly reached his secondary goal of $15,000.
Cowlishaw will be leaving in the next two weeks and plans on reporting back daily throughout his six-to-nine week expedition to his followers by sharing his photos together with the written word to tell stories he hopes others will enjoy for years to come.
“I will be sending back stories of America and its history through its rural decay, Indian reservations, and the sprawling rugged beauty of wastelands, swamplands, and plains that define the United States,” Cowlishaw said. “I want to follow in the footsteps of those who came before us and find those people who are living in the present who continue to tell their story. These places will soon be gone or forever changed.”
To contact Nate Cowlishaw or donate to his trip after the Kickstarter campaign closes, call (435) 531-9944.
Kickstarter Campaign Site: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wowflutes/the-great-southwestern-suzuki-adventure-0.
Scroll down to see additional photographs from Nate Cowlishaw in greater detail in our gallery.
