Beginning in the early 2000s, in addition to taking photos to record my travels with my wife Leah in the U.S. and abroad, I began to take pictures of nature, scenery and landscapes. These particular shots were taken not so much to show where we had been, but to record something I saw as beautiful.

A few years ago, as I occasionally looked at these photographs on my computer, I began to see them as art. I became more conscious of taking these kinds of timeless photos on vacations and close to home, especially at Wave Hill and New York Botanical Garden. I found myself particularly interested in taking photographs of flowers and plants very close up.

In recent years, I have become more focused on the visual effect of the pictures I take. I have been moving much closer in to capture the mystery, the intimacy, the sensuality in nature. And in some cases, my intention is to take a photo of an object and crop it in such a way that the viewer might not immediately recognize what it is.

My photographs have been exhibited at my synagogue in Manhattan (SAJ), Gallery 18 at Riverdale Y and KRVC Art at Amalgamated.

Herb Kaplan
herbkaplan3701@gmail.com