Xerophytic
Images from Xerophytic were on display at McKinley Arts & Culture Center Gallery East in Reno, Nevada, from June 7 through July 30, 2021. Click here to view an interview with Kirsten regarding this series, and click here for a short video of the images that were on display at Truckee Meadows Community College in December 2020 and January 2021.
In Big Smoky Valley II
In the Clan Alpine Mountains I
In the Toiyabe Range V
In Soldier Meadow II
In the Granite Range I
In Monitor Valley I
In Big Smoky Valley I
In the Toiyabe Range I
In Soldier Meadow I
In the Calico Mountains I
In the Calico Mountains II
In the Columbus Salt Marsh I
In the Schell Creek Range I
In the Clan Alpine Mountains II
In the Columbus Salt Marsh II
In the Calico Mountains III
In the Toiyabe Range II
In the Toiyabe Range III
In the Independence Mountains I
In The Mahoganies I
In the Toiyabe Range IV
In the Independence Mountains II
In Queen Valley II
In The Mahoganies II
November 2020
updated May 2021
As a photographer, my goal is to take the commonplace and make it seen. In my series Xerophytic, I bring attention to the often overlooked, low-lying plants of Nevada’s Great Basin. A xerophyte is a plant that has adapted to survive with very little water. The driest state in the nation, Nevada and its desert landscape can seem harsh, untenable, and barren. However, the Great Basin is a diverse and thriving ecosystem full of life and beauty. Xerophytic peeks at a small aspect of this environment.
Xerophytic continues my photographic work of flowering plants. In this series I use select focus to explore the small details one quickly glances over, like a shadscale soaking up the mid-morning sun. The myopic quality of each image invites the viewer to look a beat longer at each plant, allowing an extra moment to take in a detail that might not otherwise be seen. The unfriendly, prickly, dry ground cover of the desert takes on an ephemeral softness when photographed at close distance with an f/0.95 aperture.
Nevada is nearly 85% federal land, much of which is accessible to the public. By extension, this provides a large backyard for all to be able to experience. Typically, these images were photographed either first thing in the morning before breaking down camp or after setting up in the evening. Discovering Nevada has been a decades-long process, and there is still so much more to be revealed.
All images were created in 2020.