I'm excited to finally begin this blog, chronicling the photography and creation of The National Parks Photography Project. Looking back, there are so many obstacles that had to be overcome to get to this point. The concept and planning for this project first began in January of 2010 at a dinner with Jean Becker, the Chief of Staff for former President George H.W. Bush. At that time I had a major exhibit on exhibition at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum named 'The Culture of Wine'. During dinner the conversation randomly moved into discussion about the potential for a future exhibit celebrating the upcoming centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016. As a photographer there are few things that I love more than Black & White landscape photography. Combine that with the awe inspiring beauty and history of America's cathedrals of nature, our national parks, and I was looking at the project of a lifetime. From that dinner the road began. Soon, at the recommendation of a friend, David Jones, we formed a 'Project Advisory Committee'. That was probably some of the best advice that I have ever taken. After many meetings in Houston and some with the National Park Foundation in Washington DC the project evolved into 'The National Parks Photography Project'.
In the early stages I spent many hours in the field shooting some preliminary photography to use in presentations. Some of that early project work is actually pretty remarkable. In the top photo above I am in White Sands NM in New Mexico. In the lower photo, I was checking focus while shooting some 4x5 film of Half Dome in Yosemite NP. All in all, during the preliminary shooting I traveled to Yosemite NP, Grand Canyon NP, Saguaro NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP, Guadalupe Mtns NP, Redwood NP, White Sands NM, and Bandelier NM.
I sincerely thank you for having an interest in this blog and hope that you will check back along the road to completion for future posts. Mark Burns
