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Hunting & Fishing News Back to Hunting & Fishing News 
Steve Payne's Greenbrier River ImagesThe Greenbrier River was first introduced to me by my parents, who took us to Watoga State Park for summer vacations when I was a boy. I was taken in by the Greenbrier's beauty and aura, and over the years made many trips back for fishing and relaxing. Several years ago, we acquired a small cabin on the Greenbrier near Lewisburg. My love affair with the river, though never having ended, was urgently renewed. 
Our first year with the camp, I basically made no photographs. I was content to float in my inner tube, ride bikes on the trail, and watch an evening campfire. In August of 1994, I began seriously photographing the basic elements of the river valley: water, rocks, leaves and trees. These elements transcend the Greenbrier River Valley, reflecting the basic rhythm and harmony of life.
Photographing these elements of nature is a spiritual experience for me. I am overcome by my surroundings, losing track of time and the rest of the world. I engage in a form of visual meditation, or prayer, with the universe.
This work has changed my outlook on many things. When I made many of the photographs, I thought the conditions offered little promise of great beauty. That is, I thought it was either too late in the season, or that the conditions weren't perfect enough for great photographs. Instead, I found that the autumnal changes - which are actually a dying process - let me see, and photograph, my
surroundings in a way which resulted in not only incredible photographs, but I learned from these experiences to always look deeper - you may find what you seek, you may find something even better.
The photographs you see here represent a part of this work to date. I will never really complete this project, and it will probably take on many faces over the years. I feel that these photographs represent some of the best work of my career. I look forward to making many more - not just for the resultant photographs, but because of what I'll experience while I make them.
In my work, I try to capture the universal elements of the subject matter and somewhat remove it from its place. This is obviously not always possible, but I simply see nature as "the world," not as merely West Virginia or any other regional definition. Just as you don't see the lines dividing the states from an airplane, I don't see the world divided, but as a singular entity.
Steve Payne, a well-known West Virginia photographer for more than 20 years, handles assignments across the country. In the business and advertising communities he is best known for his award-winning commercial photography. In his hometown of Charleston, he is well-known for his intimate black and white portraits; the waiting list to have one taken is never short. In and out of West Virginia Steve is rapidly becoming known for the work that you see here: "Images of the Greenbrier River." The photographs are in many corporate and private collections around the world.
Steve is currently finishing a book with Quarrier Press on West Virginia and is working on a book of the Greenbrier River Images. Original prints and two posters of the Greenbrier series are currently available.
You can see more of Steve's work online at www.stevepayne.com and contact him by e-mail: stevepayne@newwave.net or by telephone 304-343-7254.
More of Steve Payne's work can be seen in West Virginia in Pictures, which will be published in mid-June and can be ordered from our bookshelf on page 38.
Copyright 2000 by Wonderful West Virginia magazine and the WV Division of Natural Resources. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Photos are the property of the individual photographer(s) and may not be reprinted or reposted to the web without their permission. Click here to view the latest edition of Wonderful West Virginia, the official magazine of the Mountain State. |
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