The European Botanical Series, 1983-1985, is the first of the Morpheus portfolios. These early studies in the use of elongation were photographed in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. This series began following the Dreams and was directly inspired by them. I continued to photograph plants in the Zurich Botanical Gardens. The hot house plants, such as "Jungle Orchid, Paris, 1984," are seen as portraits of rather fun and extravagant subjects. I think of this photograph as an "animated plant life," playing for the camera, as opposed to a "still life," that sits in a vase. A "still life" is severed from its roots. The plant-portraits in the European Botanical Series are very much alive and rooted in soil. That, along with the metaphor of the mirror reflecting the invisible, produce an image that reveals something of the inner life of the plant.

"Agave with Swirls, Arizona, 1985," illustrates this point nicely, symbolizing the anima I was allowed to glimpse during the Dreaming. The Sonoran Desert Series took me out of the glassed-in hot house and out under the open sky. The desert plants were huge and magnificent and required me to step back and incorporate form, light and space in a whole new way. This was very exciting. Now my studio was outside, beneath a changing sky and varied landscapes posed as my backdrop. Suddenly, I saw a different rhythm move in front of my lens. This new vision led me to photograph in Africa.

In the African Portfolios; 1986-1990, the tall, graceful figures are seen in the context of their environment. Whether it is a swirling horizon woven into a streaked sky, or a lush forest whose forms mingle and mix with those of their human inhabitants, these figures express both the strength and fragility, pride and anxiety I found in tribal Africa. The rhythms I saw there were bound up with nature and with the relationships people had with their land. The mirror translated the event, just as I saw in the Dreaming. Through this work and spending time with the indigenous people, I learned about the interconnectedness between people and all things around them. I thought to continue this investigation and work with those who have dedicated their lives to contemplating life's many mysteries..

The next body of work within the Morpheus Portfolios is the Mystics and Healers Series, 1994 to the present. Here, I photograph mainly spiritual elders. I define a spiritual elder as someone who has been leading a spiritual life for at least ten years. Many of the people have been practicing their spiritual path for more than thirty years. These elders are photographed while invoking, meditating, calling to the ancestors or praying. In addition to the portraits, I ask the mystics and healers for a message to guide and inspire the world. The messages are on the "text" button found beneath their portrait on the Mystics and Healers page. This body of work is part of an ongoing photographic mosaic of the great spiritual traditions from around the world.

In addition to the Morpheus Portfolios, some individuals have asked me to photograph them. These portraits are a result of meaningful conversation between the model and myself. It is important to me that these portraits speak to a relevant event or emotion in the person's life that I am photographing. Click on the image above to see the Portraits page