The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is known for many things: its abundant and varied wildlife, the long and complex story of the Nisqually River delta and its role as a portion of the traditional homelands of the Nisqually people, and for the refuge’s modern-day role as a distraction from the vagaries of every-day urban and suburban life for residents of Washington State and beyond.
This documentary book eschews the traditional lens through which wildlife refuges are viewed and approaches the complex subject from a less-explored angle. My focus is entirely on the environment in its present state, where I have made a concerted effort to showcase the unique natural systems that comprise the refuge as they adapt to each season, with no judgements being made about the historical or current usage of the refuge lands, or the complex role that the refuge and its assorted issues play in local or regional political thinking.
I made a concerted effort to both photograph very specific things – the ecological features that make Nisqually truly unique and important – while also consciously avoiding photographing the people visiting, and the wildlife transiting through the refuge. This book focuses on the permanent features that make the refuge timeless and important, the non-transitory but constantly changing permanent things on the refuge that, in some form or fashion, have been and will continue to be there forever.
The groundwork and research for project began in early 2021, when I began visiting the refuge every few weeks explore the environment and start formulating my approach to documenting the widely varied landscapes and ecological systems. After much research, many miles of wandering, and a series of test prints, the real work began. In January 2022 I began visiting the refuge on a consistent and planned basis – roughly every 3 weeks - and documenting the facets of the environment that I found most representative of the refuge as they went through their seasonal metamorphosis.
Nisqually Typologies features 108 full-color photographs in nine sets, each set consisting of one image from each month of 2022 and focused on a specific environmental or ecological feature of the refuge.
In the book, the environmental features of the refuge are grouped into nine distinct categories: Saltwater, Fresh Water, Sloughs, River, Canopy, Paths, Twin Barns, Field, and Riparian Forest.
All photographs in this book were taken during their respective listed month in the year 2022. They were all processed identically and nothing was added or removed from any of the images. Some images had minor cropping or leveling applied during processing. Each of these photographs represents, to the best of my ability, exactly what each scene looked like in-person and nothing more.
11x8.5” hardbound, glossy 100# paper. Printed in America.
2nd printing now shipping! (Updated 8/17/2023)
Prints from the book
Select images will be available as open edition 11x14”color prints beginning in mid-January 2024. Open edition prints are giclee printed on archival grade 315/gsm photo rag paper and are produced in-house by me on a professional quality photo printer.