1. Christopher Burkett By Kelsey Lund

2. Christopher Burkett… Was born in the Pacific Northwest in 1951-present. His work appears in magazines, galleries, books, and on video. He is know for Landscape Photography, and mainly photos of woodlands He has a wife named Ruth He served as a brother at the age of 19 before he left to pursue photography.

3. Influences… Christopher was raised as a Christian and became interested to show the grace, light and beauty that he saw in nature. In 1979 he left to pursue his dream for photography and marry his wife. He then perfected his craft over the next twenty years so that photography could express his inspiration.

4. Beaver Lodge at Sunrise Taken in Colorado 1997 I can’t even explain how cool this picture is. I love the reflection in the water and the colors in it. The bright yellow really caught my eye and that to me, is the main focus. After you look at the pretty reflection that the sunrise is bringing to is you notice the beaver dam and the dry thistle around the water. I think that he caught this picture and scene at the perfect time. It wouldn’t be the same if it was taking in the middle of the day. This picture is definitely just natural lighting with the sun rising and all. I love this picture a lot.

5. Resplendent Leaves at Sunset Taken in Oregon 2002 This picture is my favorite one. You can see the detailed color and veins on every single leaf almost. The leaves are all very colorful and the main focus of this picture is the bright ones especially. My eyes just move around the whole picture, which made me notice the detail in it. This picture looks like it’s using natural outdoor lighting. The light looks like it’s coming from anywhere it, all lit up. I selected this picture because I’ve never seen leaves look so pretty and different colored like they are in this picture.

6. Sunrise and Autumn Blueberries Taken in Maine 1994 The main focus in this picture is the front dark red patch. The foreground in this picture is amazing. I love how instead of just taking a picture of the field of berries, you also see the row of beautifully colored fall trees. One reason that I chose this picture is because I love Autumn and all the colors that come out, I think it’s so pretty. So it was a personal reason and I just thought the picture was really cool. This picture looks like it uses natural outdoor lighting just like all of his photos look like. All of his pictures are very just natural and real looking. The colors in this photo is what makes it so striking.

7. Aspen Knoll Taken in Colorado 2005 Again, I think that this picture uses all natural outdoor lighting. The color contrast between the bright orange on the trees and the bright blue sky is honestly amazing. I love how they compliment each other so well. The main focus is the orange trees. Even though there is a lot of background in this (the sky) I think that it adds to the picture because it adds some more color. I personally really like this picture which is why I chose it. Mainly I like it because of the colors that pop and bring each other out in it.

8. Black Mountain Aspen Forest Taken in Utah 1993 This picture uses natural outdoor lighting I think because you can see that the sunlight is hitting the trees from an angle. Also Christopher Burkett takes a lot of his photos just while he’s driving. If he sees something that he thinks he can capture he’ll just pull over take the photo and then keep driving. The brightly colored trees are the main focus in this photo. You don’t see the dull grey trees really until you look at the whole photo. I see the bright yellows and greens at first glance. In this photo I see a lot of texture from the tree leaves and branches, it looks very real. I see the real beauty in nature in all of the photos that Christopher Burkett takes. I selected this picture because I saw that even these ordinary pictures of trees he somehow captured something that looks really pretty.

9. White Dogwood Canopy Kentucky 2000 I think that this picture is all natural lighting. You can see the bright blue sky through the blossoms and branches, but it all looks like natural light from the sun. The main subject looks like it’s the tree branches because when I look at this picture the darkness and the shapes that the branches make are what catches my eye. The composition of the colors from the light pink and bright blue and then almost black really make this picture pop. Also the leading lines from the tree branches just lead you around the whole photo. I think that the photographer is just trying to catch beauty in the little things of nature in all of his photos. I chose this photo because I thought it was really a really pretty picture and it caught my eye.

10. Citations: www.valleyfineart.com/publichtml/htmlpages/ArtistBio.asp?AT=Christop herBurkettwww.valleyfineart.com/publichtml/htmlpages/ArtistBio.asp?AT=Christop herBurkett www.christopherburkett.com