About Peter
Baltimore County
In Peter Stern’s photography, viewers see the Mid-Atlantic from a unique and intimate perspective. Flying low, slow, and alone in his small airplane over the coal mines of Pennsylvania and the coastal landscapes of the lower Eastern Shore, Stern conveys an intimacy with his subject that echoes his deep personal connection to the region.
With the ability to fly between 500 and 800 feet above his subjects, and shooting primarily in “bird’s-eye” perspective, Stern discovered that he… more
With the ability to fly between 500 and 800 feet above his subjects, and shooting primarily in “bird’s-eye” perspective, Stern discovered that he… more
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Images 2007-2010
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Quarry Abstract08/31/2007 Lancaster County, PA This image initiated my narrative of the “third space” between the representational and the abstract. I was impressed by the stunning richness of the rocks and minerals arranged about the excavation, the pareidolia creatures they contained, and how the enormous boulders used to line the gravel roads throughout the quarry become the most delicate rows of gems when seen from the air.
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Anthracite Scrublands10/09/2009 Luzerne County, PA Outside of Nanticoke, hearty shrubs and small trees hold on to islands of soil among the waste rock and coal tailings near an abandoned coal processing site
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Winter Track02/04/2010 Lancaster County, PA Low southern Winter light creates long shadows from the barren trees surrounding a dirt track near New Holland.
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Coal Ridge Forest10/08/2008 Schuylkill County, PA Ridges of coal tailings near Lansford show the progression of forest re-growth from the unmined hill in the foreground to the farthest ridges just above the stripping pit in the background.
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Red Shale and Coal Tailings11/21/2009 Luzerne County, PA To the East and Southeast of Hazleton, vast areas appear as a churned and blackened landscape of hills of coal tailings and lakes of dried run-off from anthracite strip mines. Within that landscape lies intimate beauty.
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Marsh Spirit Figure10/20/2010 Ocean County, NJ Flying west from Barnegat Light over the Manahawkin Bay marshlands, I encountered this human like figure emerging from the marsh. The straight and diagonal lines in the photograph are drainage channels, cut a century ago for the purpose of improving irrigation and reducing mosquito breeding. These man-made lines give the image the appearance of a cave painting or hieroglyph, as if created by a giant hand from the sky upon the landscape.
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Phasianus07/03/2010 Clearfield County, PA Piles of multicolored tailings from a mine in western Pennsylvania created by humans and earth moving machinery form graceful patterns seen from the above, part of the aesthetic beauty found within the altered landscapes of Pennsylvania.
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Island, Prettyboy Reservoir12/31/2009 Baltimore County, Maryland This image represents one of the unexpected discoveries made by casually taking along the camera on an unexpected flight. The last day of the decade, December 31’st, 2009, and I was released from work early. Just a dusting of snow on the ground didn’t keep me from taking to the air, and flying south into Maryland and over Pretty Boy Reservoir, I slowly circled and photographed this peaceful winter gem in the middle of the lake.
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Jersey Shore Waves10/20/2010 Ocean County, New Jersey Flying low along the coastline north of Atlantic City, I took numerous photos as I proceeded towards Barnegat Light. Several days of heavy rains in recent days had left the coastal waters heavily laden with sediment, giving the water the murky, greenish hue. The unusual, backwards cresting of the waves make it appear as if these are giant waves seen from the side cascading towards the viewer, when actually the photograph is from a vertical perspective. The two people in the upper right corner are the few humans that appear in any of my aerial photographs.
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Dyer Quarry08/31/2007 Berks County Pennsylvania Dyer Quarry, which is off-limits to the public due to several deaths that have occurred there, has become a special place of interest to me. I have flown over it often, looking into the peaceful depths, often watching birds circling just over the water, and have even made the journey to visit the quarry by land, in which I found it to be a lovely, spiritual, powerful and impressive place.
Lower Eastern Shore 12/26-27,2014
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Leafy Sea Dragon12/272014 Accomack County, Virginia Tidal flats near Wachapreague create the impression of a seahorse or mythical creature when seen from above.
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Tidal Sinew12/27/2014 Accomack County, Virginia A tidal estuary system appears like veins, or sinew, upon the surface of the Earth.
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Atlantic12/27/2014 Accomack County, Virginia The Atlantic coastline of Metompkin Island
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Shadow Forest12/27/2014 Accomack County, Virginia Launching from Accomack County Airport at first light, I witnessed long shadows cast from the thin line of trees atop a berm separating marsh and field.
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Winter Marsh12/26/2014 Accomack County, Virginia Winter light brought unexpeted richness to the palatte of colors in the marshlands of the Eastern Shore.
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Luckdragon12/26/2014 Accomack County, Virginia "Luckdragon" imagines a creature composed primarily of underwater shoals in the lower Chesapeake Bay, imagining the Japanese mythical dragon Fukuryu, which has no particular powers, but simply “brings luck”.
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Shoreline Angel12/26/2014 Accomack County, Virginia
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Alluvial 212/26/2014 Sommerset County, Maryland
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Marsh Channel and Hummocks12/26/2014 Sommerset County, Maryland
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Marsh Diagonals12/26/2014 Sommerset County, Maryland
Images 2019
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Treeline05/17/2019 York County, Pennsylvania
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Sand Mine Berm05/19/2019 Cecil County, Maryland
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Sand Mine05/19/2019 Cecil County, Maryland
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Deforested Hillside05/22/2019 Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
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Cloud Study #3.08/02/2019 York County, Pennsylvania
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Quarry Figure10/09/2019 Berks County, Pennsylvania
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Quarry Elements10/09/2019 Berks County, Pennsylvania
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Quarry Light10/09/2019 Berks County, Pennsylvania
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Strata10/09/2019 Berks County, Pennsylvania
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Eye of Horus10/09/2019 Berks County, Pennsylvania
Images 2016-2017
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Escarpment10/21/2016 Luzerne County, Pennsylvania A low-lying area of coal dust consisting of fine particles of coal washed from coal strippings by erosion reflects light from the shallow water that runs across its surface.
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Talus11/02/2016 Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Mounds of coal tailings near an open strip-mine near Hazleton resemble an otherworldly topography. The various colors are rocks and minerals. The low-lying area between the mounds contains elements which have been washed into those areas, and erosion lines can be seen on the mounds.
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Carbón06/02/2017 Northumberland County, Pennsylvania The name of this image alludes to the generations of immigrants who worked these mines. These tailings are the testament to their extreme hard work and sacrifice. The element of carbon forms the basis for this mass of sifted Earth-rock. It's shape has been altered in time by the forces of water and wind, and the tires of off-road vehicles.
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Rivulet08/25/2017 Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
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Fossil10/27/2017 Clearfield County, Pennsylvania Looking down into an area adjacent to a mine creates the impression of fossilized cambrian creatures and plants embedded in shale.
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Black Rose10/27/2017 Clearfield County, Pennsylvania A large mound of coal awaits loading by the conveyor to the right into trucks for transport from the mine. The red color in the water is likely from iron.
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Gradient10/27/2017 Clearfield County, Pennsylvania A hillside strewn with rocks and boulders forms a gradient of textures as the larger pieces roll to the lower part of the scarp adjacent to a bituminous coal mine.
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Tuscarora12/07/2017 Franklin County, Pennsylvania Late Fall brought soft light and a variety of colors, textures and forms that combine in this section of a bituminous coal mine.
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Palette12/07/2017 Adams County, Pennsylvania The soft, sensous motion of color in the gravel, limestone and coal of a small quarry near Gettysburg reminds of a painter's palette.
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Butterfly Earth06/15/2017 York County, Pennsylvania Fields in crop rotation follow the contour of the earth near the Susquehanna River.