More Than a Rock, 2nd Edition

10No Lesser an Art

Photography is not an art. Neither is painting, nor sculpture, literature, or music. They are only different media for the individual to express his aesthetic feelings. . . . You do not have to be a painter or a sculptor to be an artist. You may be a shoemaker. You may be creative as such. And, if so, you are a greater artist than the majority of the painters whose work is shown in the art galleries of today.

—Alfred Stieglitz

Now back from my autumn travels, I feel fortunate to have witnessed extraordinary beauty as I drove and hiked in my beloved deserts of the American West. I started my journey on Utah’s high plateaus, catching the last of the golden foliage in the aspens mixed with early snow, before descending into the ...