SightPhoto Blog

Glad to recently receive a review copy of Shelter From the Storm, which showcases the New Mexico photography of Kirk Gittings. It's in part a retrospective of a productive 25 plus years of landscape and architectural photography by this accomplished craftsman. But, the collection of photos is more than a scatter-shot portfolio; the theme of man-made structures and their relationship to the environment is what makes this a much more thoughtful body of work.

Gittings was first attracted by the remains of ancient Puebloan civilizations, stone structures gentlty melting into the surrounding landscape. He moves forward in time, looking at abondoned churches and ghost towns, before applying his skills to modern Southwestern-style homes. Having this collection of architectural studies juxtaposed was slightly disconcerting: I began looking at the present-day homes of the well-to-do with an anthropologist's eye, and began wondering what life would have been like amidst the graceful stonework of the ancients. It's a welcome journey through the eyes of a talented photographer.