Habitat destruction caused by deforestation, pollution, and agricultural development is happening at an alarming rate to our natural landscapes. It brings wildlife closer to human populations, endangering both animals and people. The destruction of habitat has probably caused a global pandemic.

My Disappearing Habitats series presents photographs of habitats being encroached upon and finally swallowed up by man-made structures. In the first image, the habitat is the main subject of the photograph and is detailed and distinct. The series ends, though, with a wall closing off a landscape... a landscape that is barely visible and disappearing.

The photographs of each project presented on the Baker site are meant to be seen as a series. The first images in these Disappearing portfolios are focused and distinct, but as the series progresses, successive images become more and more abstract and less photographic. It is hard to make out their detail.  Finally, in the last photograph of each of the Disappearing portfolios, reality has all but disappeared.

My photographic style lends itself well to the formation of these series. I have developed my own techniques for capturing reflections and representing transparency. My camera movement technique causes subject matter to become transparent and detail to disappear. These techniques have allowed me to create images with subjects that appear to disappear.

To facilitate the importance of sequence in these series, I have included, as the last artwork of each project, a slide show video of all images in the series. This video provides a sense of progression that enables viewers to more fully understand the serial nature of these projects.

All photographs are 14.5" x 22" pigment ink photographic prints.

Habitat destruction also includes human habitat. I have seen first-hand the hollowing out of small towns in America. Beautiful, vintage main street towns are left starkly empty  because people have left to work jobs elsewhere. The people who still live in these towns have been devastated by economic downturns, as well as the pandemic.

My Disappearing Human Habitats series presents views of small-town rural America. The progression of this series symbolically follows these towns as they devolve into decay. The sharp definition of the first image contrasts strikingly with the last... a hazy view out a train window. These towns, peoples' hometowns, are disappearing.

My photographic style lends itself well to the formation of this series. I have developed my own techniques for capturing reflections and representing transparency. My camera movement technique causes subject matter to become transparent and detail to disappear. These techniques have allowed me to create images with subjects that appear to disappear.




To facilitate the perception of each Year of Disappear series, I have included, as the last artwork of each project, a slide show video of all images in the series. This video will provide a smooth progression of images in the series from corporeal existence to nothingness. And, it makes viewing my 2021 work easier.

All photographs in this series are 14.5" x 22" pigment ink photographic prints.

Some 40% of the world's species of plants are threatened with extinction, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 2020 report. Plants are disappearing faster than we can name them. Plant extinctions endanger other organisms, ecosystems, and human well-being. Basically, plant extinctions endanger the entire planet. And yet, the health of plant ecosystems is not a top priority for people or governments. Few people can name just one extinct plant.
 

The Disappearing Botanics series presents photographs of plants rather than of trees and forests. The sharp definition of the first image of the series contrasts strikingly with that of the last, a view of our garden abstracted by summer rain on the window screen.

These photographs are meant to be seen as a series. The first images are focused and distinct, but as the series progresses, the images become blurred and out of focus. It is hard to make out their detail. Finally, the plants have disappeared into the pattern of the window screen.
 

My photographic style lends itself well to the formation of this series. I have developed my own techniques for capturing reflections and representing transparency. My camera movement technique causes subject matter to become transparent and detail to disappear. These techniques have allowed me to create images with subjects that appear to disappear.




To facilitate the perception of each Year of Disappear series, I have included, as the last artwork of each project, a slide show video of all images in the series. This video will provide a smooth progression of images in the series from corporeal existence to nothingness. And, it makes viewing my 2021 work easier. 

All photographs in this series are 14.5" x 22" pigment ink prints.