LET THERE BE LIGHT

A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA

Edward Abbey once wrote, “Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today.” The first time I read it, I understood. In a single sentence, Abbey spoke volumes about the photographic process, which really is a collaboration between time and light. In photography, light is the foundation, but it’s not just a raw material — it’s both the music and the dance. The great photographers learn to feel it, watching and waiting for magic to unfold. That’s what this portfolio is about. - JEFF KIDA, PHOTO EDITOR

At dawn, tufts of grass cast long shadows in Willcox Playa, a lake bed near the city of the same name. The playa is dry most of the year but floods seasonally, providing habitat for sandhill cranes and other bird species.

LEFT: A rainbow forms over saguaros and other Sonoran Desert flora during a storm. While the Sonoran Desert is known for scorching summer temperatures, it's also been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's wettest desert.

ABOVE: Healthy ocotillos reach skyward on a stormy morning at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. This shot was made near the refuge's Pinacate Lava Flow, which features one shield volcano and hundreds of cinder cones.

JACK DYKINGA ARCA-SWISS F-FIELD C, FUJICHROME 50D RFP, 3 SEC, F/32, ISO 50, 75 MM LENS

Sunlight streams through lingering fog and forms shadows on evergreens at Luna Lake, a 75-acre reservoir near Escudilla Mountain in the White Mountains of Eastern Arizona. Hiking, fishing and wildlife watching are all popular activities at Luna Lake, which is just southeast of the town of Alpine.

RUSTY CHILDRESS