The cyclical manner of life is a reminder that no experience within the natural world is truly new. The moon waxes and wanes much like the trees bare and bloom—month after month, year after year. These patterns align us with the universe and our place within it. Peekskill-based photographer, filmmaker, and author J. Ryan Ulsh sought to capture the rhythmic ways of our existence and our connection to nature in Cycles, his first book of fine art photography.
Ulsh's global travels resulted in a rich slate of images. Mother, taken in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, shows the striking silhouette of a person set against a deep golden sky as if they are one with the mountains. Aurora Borealis, shot in Skagabyggo, Iceland, captures the mystical Northern Lights—a reoccurring natural display, yet one that can be so magnificent.
Perhaps Ulsh's work is as much a catalyst for change as a source of wonder. As our relationship with the Earth is weakened by the climate crisis, his images inspire humanity to once again see itself as part of the picture. 10 percent of proceeds for book sales (Cyclesbooks.com) go to the Nature Conservancy.
