DeCarté May

• Camera: Holga
• Film: Kodak Tri-X shot with a red filter, pushed to 1600

“While Europe has thousands of years worth of ancient cities and temples, America has its great canyons, mountains, forests, and deserts; these are our great wonders. They are the great equalizer in our country; they belong to both rich and poor serving as a vast communal backyard. They are a testing ground and recreational paradise for generation upon generation of Americans. They can be cruel and unforgiving while simultaneously full of beauty and wonder. At a time when their future is in question it is imperative to understand how important they are to the American population and what a devastating loss it would be to have the purpose altered.

Our public lands are one of this countries greatest treasures; millions of acres of forests, rivers, deserts, and parks. The majority of this acreage lies in the American West where they have become deeply intertwined with the local population, they are our tie to the wildness of our past, they humble, and teach us to have respect for the natural world. Once again their fate is on rocky ground and to lose them would be to lose a large part of our national identity.

This project was started 6 years ago when I was given a Holga camera as gift, without thought I started bringing it along on all my trips around the west. Slowly over time I found myself shooting more and more with only the Holga. The lack of control was incredibly liberating, no longer was I focused on gear in these wild places. With its limitations I slowly found out what type of light, compositions, and landscapes worked best. All the photos are taken with Kodak Tri-X film with a red filter that is then push processed to ISO 1600, this combination I feel creates a very dramatic effect that conveys the raw and unforgiving nature of the land.

I am a northern California based photographer specializing in documentary work. My journey began over a decade ago when I picked up a camera to satisfy a college art requirement. Shortly after, I quit school and took off to explore the world photographically. After five years of uncomfortable bus rides, bed bugs, and the same three shirts, Ie opted for a change of pace and moved to Truckee, California. Since moving to the mountains, the American West has been my subject of interest from the vineyards of wine country to the deserts of the Southwest.

All images were taken on the public lands of the west with a toy Holga camera.”