I arrived in the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness with no pin, no shortcut, and no guarantee I would find what I came for. The Pandemic had just dismantled the life I thought I was building. The future was undefined, and I took that opportunity to chase my dream as a fine art photographer, so I built my first overland vehicle with my own hands and pointed it west. It was the start of a 6 month expedition. The Alien Throne was the first place I went. For hours I moved alone through the badlands, navigating hoodoos, bentonite hills streaked with color, fragments of petrified wood and ancient stone scattered underfoot. Distances stretched. Light thinned. Sunset approached faster than I wanted to admit. Frustration set in. I was close to turning back. One last ridgeline changed everything. The formation rose from the desert like a relic left behind by something older than permission or explanation. Wind-carved, hollowed, and balanced against gravity itself. As the sun dropped low, it slipped through an opening at the base of the structure, igniting the stone from within for a brief, unrepeatable moment before the desert closed around it again. As a lover of sun stars and epic framing, I could not have planned it better myself. Standing there, something settled. That moment marked the end of uncertainty and the beginning of conviction. Context and Landscape Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah is one of the most fragile and unguarded landscapes in the American Southwest. There are no marked trails and no obvious landmarks. The land does not reveal itself easily. These hoodoos are shaped by slow erosion over millions of years, sculpted by wind and water into forms that feel more discovered than designed. Moments like this are not found on demand. They exist briefly, then they are gone. Creation Notes This image was captured after several hours of exploration on foot, arriving at the formation shortly before sunset. The composition was refined as the light evolved, with careful attention to how the sun interacted with the interior voids of the structure. In order to faithfully convey the atmosphere and emotional weight of the experience, this photograph was refined using multiple exposed photos, allowing the final image to reflect the depth and presence of standing in that place. All elements originate from my own work, camera, and remain grounded in what existed in the field. Masterwork Statement This image is not just my first Masterwork. It is the closest thing I have to a self-portrait of my soul. When I chose to offer The Alien Throne as a one-of-one, I understood exactly what that meant. A Masterwork does not simply leave my studio, it leaves my custody. The collector who acquires this image will own it with finality and permanence. There will never be another print. There will never be another opportunity to reclaim it. That decision is deeply personal. This photograph carries the moment I stopped drifting and started becoming. It holds the uncertainty of that year, the quiet fear of walking away from everything familiar, and the first real proof that I could build a life from instinct and perseverance rather than permission. I was alone when I made it, alone in a landscape that offered no reassurance. That honesty still lives inside the frame. Releasing this image feels less like selling a work of art and more like entrusting a piece of myself to someone who understands what it costs to create something true. It represents the beginning of my voice, the moment exploration became a calling rather than an escape. There could not be a more honest beginning for a Masterwork. This image came from risk. From doubt. From choosing to keep walking when it would have been easier to turn back. By placing it in someone else’s care, I am allowing that moment to live on, complete and finished, with its final owner. There will never be another like it. Masterwork Print Sizes Each Masterwork is produced once and only once. Final dimensions are determined in collaboration with the collector, based on the intended space and presentation. The work can be produced up to approximately 70×105 inches without compromise to image quality or at additional cost. Monumental formats beyond this scale available for an additional fee. Please contact us with any questions prior to ordering.
